Trey Anastasio
November 2, 2005
Orpheum Theater
Minneapolis, MN

Sailing guitar solos, elaborate stage setup, balloons, hazy smoke and a grinning Trey Anastasio glad to be back before a crowd of adoring jam-lovers.

The kickoff of Trey’s tour promoting his new album Shine, Orpheum Theater in downtown Minneapolis found itself transformed into hippie central with $6 Heinkens and secondhand schwag galore.


The set kicked off with two stellar tracks from Trey’s 2002 self-titled debut (I call it “The Red Album”) with backing band 70 Volt Parade more than compensating for the missing horns of Trey’s last solo tour. These are some incredibly talented musicians - particularly guitarist/keyboardist Les Hall, who had some fantastic interplay with Trey throughout the set. In fact, the entire band has a vibrant, improvisational energy that permeated the rafters of the opera house Wednesday night as Trey and the gang breathed life into Trey’s next phase of life.

The new material is well, new. Trey gets a little nervous and/or serious when playing these live, but after all, the man has hundreds of riffs in his brain - so you can’t fault him for a little concentration. As expected, the short, radio-friendly tracks from the new album transform into solo launchpads live - and the energy was contagious.

After expertly combing through the new stuff, some old stuff and a 10 minute solo, the band took a break and Trey sat down for an acoustic set ripe with Phish favorites, including “AC/DC Bag” from Phish’s debut, Junta and “Wilson” - always the crowd pleaser. Key quote, “I’m going to get lambasted on the Internet tomorrow for playing Phish songs [crowd cheers]…but I like playing Phish songs!”

The band came back and continued their jam assault. The closer, “Push On ‘Til the Day,” was the crown jewel of the night, with a circle of solos for everyone and the surge of the crowd experiencing each of Trey’s multiple on-stage climaxes. Newbie track “Love is Freedom” ended the show as the encore and really is my least favorite song on disc or live, with unoriginal themes and boring lyrics. Regardless, a truly spectacular night for Trey and 70 Volt Parade. It doesn’t take a lot to make Trey smile, but it always feels good when he does.

Setlist:
Mr. Completely
Cayman Review
Shine
Drifting
Dark & Down
Money, Love and Change
Sweet Dreams Melinda
Spin >
Come As Melody
Driver#
Heavy Things#*
AC/DC Bag#*
Wilson#
Tuesday
Sleep Again
The Way I Feel >
Low
Ether Sunday
Wherever You Find It
Push On’ Til The Day

Encore
Love Is Freedom

Show Notes
#Trey solo acoustic
*with whistling