Trey Anastasio Offers Live Premiere & Acoustic Debuts In Wilkes-Barre

Phish‘s Trey Anastasio brought his solo acoustic tour to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, a first time for the guitarist in Wilkes-Barre. Trey delivered the live premiere of pandemic era tune, “Timeless,” as well as a trio of acoustic debuts, two of which featured Jeff Tanski on piano.

While it didn’t appear on his pandemic album, Lonely Trip, Trey shared a video of him performing “Timeless” at home to an audience of one, his cat Joey, in August 2020, shortly after Lonely Trip arrived. In the video, Anastasio plays his Languedoc and is accompanied by a drum machine and pre-recorded electric piano and bass.

Last night in Wilkes-Barre, Trey unveiled the song to a larger in-person audience, but the song was even more stripped down and soft-spoken than the 2020 video with just acoustic guitar and whistling. Watch the live premiere of “Timeless” below:

Anastasio continued the set with Phish songs “Prince Caspian” and “Ghost,” followed by Oysterhead tune “Rubberneck Lions” and “A Little More Time,” the latter a cut off his 2021 acoustic album mercy. Wilkes-Barre also got a “Lifeboy” performance as well as the acoustic debut of “Oblivion,” off Phish’s latest studio album Evolve.

Following the Trey Anastasio Band number “Sweet Dreams Melinda,” Trey offered “Dog Faced Boy,” after which he remarked that he may as well complete the “boy triumvirate” and subsequently performed “Lawn Boy.”

Frequent collaborator Jeff Tanski would help Trey wrap the main set, accompanying the guitarist on piano for Phish classics “Divided Sky” and “Guelah Papyrus.” The pair also delivered the Trey acoustic debut of “Greyhound Rising,” a song from Anastasio’s 2012 album Traveler. They continued with “Ghosts of the Forest” ahead of more vintage Phish in “Split Open and Melt.”

Tanski stayed on to help Trey close the main set with yet another Trey acoustic debut of “The Squirming Coil,” which is at first surprising but then not so much condiering it’s a piano driven song. Anastasio would go it alone for the first two songs of the encore “Roll Like a River” (mercy) and “Sleeping Monkey.” Tanski returned to help Anastasio seal the show with “Dirt,” “Bouncing Around the Room” and “Slave to the Traffic Light.”

Check out more video and listen to the complete show below taped by Keith Litzenberger:

Anastasio’s solo acoustic tour continues tonight (March 12) in Rochester, New York. Phish launch their spring tour on April 18 in Seattle. Scroll down for Trey’s itinerary.

Setlist (via phish.net)

SET 1: Timeless [1], Prince Caspian [2], Ghost[2], Rubberneck Lions[2], A Little More Time[2], Lifeboy[2], Hey Stranger[2], Steam[2], The Inlaw Josie Wales[2], Joy[2], Oblivion [3], Sweet Dreams Melinda[2], Dog Faced Boy[2], Lawn Boy[2], What’s Going Through Your Mind[2], Bathtub Gin[2], Divided Sky [4], Guelah Papyrus[4], Greyhound Rising [5], Ghosts of the Forest[4], Split Open and Melt[4], The Squirming Coil[5]

ENCORE: Roll Like a River[2], Sleeping Monkey[2], Dirt[4], Bouncing Around the Room[4], Slave to the Traffic Light[4]

Notes:

• [1] Trey solo acoustic; debut.
• [2] Trey solo acoustic.
• [3] Trey solo acoustic; first acoustic Trey performance.
• [4] Trey acoustic and Jeff Tanksi on piano.
• [5] Trey acoustic and Jeff Tanksi on piano; first acoustic Trey performance.

This entire show was performed by Trey solo acoustic except for Divided Sky through The Squirming Coil and Dirt through Slave to the Traffic Light (all of which featured Jeff Tanski on piano). This show featured the debut of Timeless and the first acoustic Trey performances of Oblivion, Greyhound Rising, and The Squirming Coil. Prior to Lawn Boy, Trey mentioned that since he had done Dog Faced Boy and Lifeboy, he would complete the “boy triumvirate.” Trey teased and quoted Wait after Bathtub Gin and quoted Wait in the pause in Divided Sky. During The Squirming Coil, Jeff left the stage while Trey played the outro of the song.