Trey Anastasio Concludes Solo Acoustic Run At The Beacon Theatre

Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio concluded his two-night, solo acoustic run at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on Saturday. After premiering the storied venue’s new Sphere Immersive Sound on Friday, night two saw Anastasio unveiling a pair of songs in his acoustic format, leading the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to his daughter Eliza and more.

Trey got the show underway with one of those debut acoustic performances, “Evening Song.” While it marked the first Trey solo acoustic performance of the track from Phish’s 2020 album Sigma Oasis, Anastasio and Phish keyboardist Page McConnell did capture the song as a duo in the series of videos they did which premiered before 2020 Beacon Jam concerts. Anastasio then jumped right into “AC/DC” which flowed into “Chalk Dust Torture,” which Trey remarked was for “the third balcony up there…it’s my balcony,” referencing his shout out to the third balcony the night previous. Trey headed through the Phish classic before looping some rhythm and soloing over it with a doubling effect.

“Thank you for being here,” Trey said after “Chalk Dust,” “and experiencing this unbelievable sound system and this beautiful room. Already the greatest room ever for rock ‘n’ roll and now…even better. I decided last night that I, I’ve always loved playing at the Beacon, but I like it so much now that I refuse to leave. Whoever’s coming in next, I’m sorry. I had it during the pandemic and I’m keeping it now.”

Anastasio then continued with “Limb By Limb” after which he referenced his banter the previous night on the the crowd size of Woodstock. “Somebody sent me a headline,” Trey said, “’Phish guy calls bullshit on Woodstock…’That was not my intent. Can’t say anything these days, it goes on the internet. I think together we should all plot revenge on the internet by thinking of a whole bunch of nonsense to say that they’ll print. Like ‘riot ensues at Beacon after Immersive Sound. Its so intense that people think they can start seeing the music.’ Which I think every time I play.”

Anastasio then got back to his original thought, which was some heartfelt words for late Trey Anastasio Band bassist Tony Markellis. “This is not said to be sad or morose or anything…I do want to acknowledge that this was the last spot that I saw my dear friend Tony Markellis. Who I love so much.” Trey then spoke about some of the milestones in his life Tony was present for and named some Phish songs, including “Limb By Limb,” that the bassist liked. “So I want to send love to Tony in the spirit world.”

Trey then continued with “When The Words Go Away” from his 2020 pandemic album, Lonely Trip. Next, Anastasio headed through a pair of Trey solo acoustic staples “Mountains In The Mist,” which boasted some buoyant loop jamming, and the instrumental “The Inlaw Josie Wales.” Phish favorite “Maze” followed after which Trey thanked his hosts at MSG Entertainement, the company that operates the Beacon, and told a humorous story about seeing Lucius at the Beacon and joking “back off Lucius, it’s my stage,” and adding “Headline tomorrow morning: ‘Agro Phish guy talks about hitting Lucius over the head with acoustic guitar.'”

Anastasio then jumped into the Kasvot Växt number, “Turtle In The Clouds” ahead of two songs from Phish’s 2000 album Farmhouse in “Twist” and the title track. The former featured some really cool loop and vocal jamming. Trey then unveiled a song in the solo acoustic format debuted earlier this year by TAB, “Hey Stranger,” after which the guitarist said: “Don’t tell anyone, this is our secret. I really wanna play that one with Phish. I think that’d be pretty cool. Don’t tell anyone.” Anastasio then offered “Sunset Days” ahead of a pair of Phish classics in “Gumbo” and “NICU.”

Trey then performed “Summer Of ‘89,” a song about the many beautiful moments he and his wife Sue have shared, including the birth of their daughter Eliza. After finishing “Summer Of ‘89” Trey said, “I hope I don’t get in trouble for this…but the girl in the song who was born, it’s her birthday tomorrow. She’s gonna be 27, and she’s in the room tonight. So, Eliza, Happy Birthday.” Trey then began playing “Happy Birthday To You” and was joined by the audience to help him sing.

Next, Anastasio delivered “The Wedge” and “Prince Caspian” before closing out the set with another birthday song, “Backwards Down The Number Line,” which Phish performed on Trey’s daughter Bella’s birthday on April 22 during their rescheduled New Year’s run. Trey returned to encore with “A Life Beyond The Dream” and “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”

Check out official photos along with some video clips from the show below:

Setlist (via Phish.net)

Set: Evening Song [1], AC/DC Bag [2] > Chalk Dust Torture[2], Limb By Limb[2], When the Words Go Away[2], Mountains in the Mist[2], The Inlaw Josie Wales[2], Maze[2], Turtle in the Clouds[2], Twist[2], Farmhouse[2], Hey Stranger[1], Sunset Days[2], Gumbo[2], NICU[2], Summer of ’89[2], Happy Birthday to You [3], The Wedge[2], Prince Caspian[2], Backwards Down the Number Line[2]

Encore: A Life Beyond The Dream[2], Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.[2]

Notes:

• [1] Trey solo acoustic; first acoustic performance.
• [2] Trey solo acoustic.
• [3] Trey solo acoustic; sung with crowd accompaniment to Eliza.

This entire show was performed by Trey solo acoustic (except for Happy Birthday which was also sung by Trey and the crowd to his daughter Eliza who was in attendance) and featured the first acoustic performances of Evening Song and Hey Stranger.