Watch Trey Anastasio Trio Rework Phish Classics At Mission Ballroom Finale In Denver

While the new Trey Anastasio Trio lineup of Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and drummer Jon Fishman joined by TAB bassist Dezron Douglas went light on songs first played by Phish during the first two nights of their debut run at Denver’s Mission Ballroom on Friday and Saturday, Sunday’s show saw the three-piece unveil their arrangements of seven songs from Trey and Fish’s main project. There were also four premieres making for a total of 14 over the course of the three-night stand.

The trio started Sunday’s concert with the first performance of “Shaking Someone’s Outstretched Hand” played in front of a live audience. Anastasio had previously trotted out the song from his 2020 pandemic album Lonely Trip during the third show of his Fall 2020 Beacon Jams residency of livestream concerts. “hey stranger” off 2022’s Mercy received the jam treatment in the two-slot on Sunday. Anastasio, Fishman and Douglas extended the song past the 15-minute mark. Dezron varied his bassline just enough to keep it interesting as Trey shredded and Fish bashed out bombastic beats.

A double dose of mercy was completed with a version of “blazing down the twisted wire” that didn’t stray too far from versions TAB played last fall. Anastasio noted it was a “true song” and “every word of it is true” before stating how much he liked Mission Ballroom and introducing his bandmates. The Trey Anastasio Trio then unveiled their slow and throbbing arrangement of “Llama.” Dezron used an envelope filter for his bass line that began the three-piece’s version of the A Picture Of Nectar gem which came in contrast to the way Phish started their “Slow Llamas.”

Another refashioned Phish tune followed in “No Men In No Man’s Land.” The trio did stick closer to the quartet arrangement than “Llama” until the jam, when Douglas laid down a funky bass line used as a platform for another Hendrix-esque improvisation. A breather came next in mercy’s “Roll Like A River” before it was “Party Time” in Denver. Sunday was one of just three times Jon Fishman played the song he wrote outside of Phish.

Sunday’s first set continued with a pair of songs off Lonely Trip that both Phish and TAB had performed previously, “Evolve” and “The Silver Light.” The latter featured an evil jam chock full of angular riffs from Anastasio that were more rhythmic in nature than pure leads. The Trey Anastasio Trio went on to wrap the frame with “Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan.” Anastasio put his wah pedal to good use during his solo on the set closer.

The final set of the three-night run got underway with a 10-minute “Gotta Jibboo” reminicent of the versions the original Trey Anastasio Trio (Trey, drummer Russ Lawton and bassist Tony Markellis) played in 1999. Next up were two debuts, “Broken Into Pieces” and “flying blind.” Douglas did a fine job providing backing vocals on “Broken Into Pieces,” a tune likely about substance abuse as Trey sang about a “dope fiend,” a “small bag” and vacant eyes. “flying blind” was the evening’s fourth and last song recorded by Anastasio for mercy. Fish’s whirl-of-motion drumming was at the heart of the “flying blind” jam over which Trey delivered plenty of fretboard fireworks.

After two debuts and before an additional pair of premieres came “Wolfman’s Brother.” An improvisational highlight, the trio’s take on the track from Phish’s 1994 album Hoist was both long and strong. The musicians locked in on a swampy progression they rode to glory for nearly the entirety of Sunday’s “Wolfman’s Brother.”

The third debut of the evening, “Valdise,” was unlike any of the new material played over the three-night run. Musically, both country and Beatles influences were prevalent. “Valdise” was also the shortest song performed by the Trey Anastasio Trio in Denver and was followed by the biggest surprise of the run as the three-piece unveiled “Splinters Of Hail” live. The Anastasio-penned tune appeared on Phish’s Party Time album in 2009, a collection only available as part of the Joy box set. It took 14 years but “Splinters Of Hail” was finally performed in front of an audience on Sunday. Fish and Dezron both provided harmony vocals on the number.

The ensuing “Ocelot” was nicely extended with Trey tearing it up over a deep groove laid down by Fishman and Douglas. A straight-forward “Heavy Things” was then linked with the gentle and pretty “Lonely Trip.” Sunday’s second set came to a close with another improvisational highlight in “Everything’s Right.” Anastasio put his Leslie speaker to the test as he lit up and down the fretboard on the fiery jam. A particularly cool riff was used to return to the head and close both “Everything’s Right” and the set.

For the encore, the Trey Anastasio Trio went back to the Phish catalog. “Carini” was given the Hendrix-esque treatment complete with Fishman screams as the evening’s finale. As for now no future Trey Anastasio Trio shows are on the books.

Setlist (via Phish.net)

Set One: Shaking Someone’s Outstretched Hand [1], hey stranger, blazing down the twisted wire, Llama [2], No Men In No Man’s Land, roll like a river, Party Time, Evolve, The Silver Light, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan

Set Two: Gotta Jibboo, Broken Into Pieces [3], flying blind[3], Wolfman’s Brother, Valdise[3], Splinters of Hail[3], Ocelot, Heavy Things, Lonely Trip, Everything’s Right

Encore: Carini

• [1] First public performance.
• [2] Performed in an alternate arrangement.
• [3] Debut.

This show featured the debuts of Broken into Pieces, flying blind, Valdise, and Splinters of Hail and the first public performance of Shaking Someone’s Outstretched Hand (which had previously been played on October 23, 2020 during the Beacon Jams). Llama was performed in an alternate arrangement. The Llama in the soundcheck was also performed in an alternate arrangement and was incomplete.