Trey Anastasio
TAB at the TAB
Red General Catalog
Sept. 14
By Michael Walsh
When guitarist Trey Anastasio isn’t touring with his revitalized Phish bandmates, he’s often pursuing his devoted solo projects, that while sharing some similarities to the popular Phish sound, and even includes a few crossover songs, is a totally different vehicle for Anastasio’s guitar.
Nothing comes close to the cohesive jamming of Phish, but the Trey Anastasio Band is a perfectly fine holdover for fans waiting for the legendary jam band to return to the stage, and this live album sampler is a perfect example as to why.
TAB at the TAB is a sampling of songs from the band’s Feb. 27, 2010 performance at the Tabernacle in Atlanta. The only strike against the album is the fact that it doesn’t include the entire show’s set, something I could only imagine exist in the same quality if these selected songs do.
But regardless, TAB at the TAB is worth listening to, as Anastasio’s other band does give him a few more toys to play with, including a full horn section, making beloved Phish songs like “Sand” interesting, unique and a much different experience than the Phish version.
But the one thing that does remain true throughout most of the album is the fact that “Machine Gun Trey” is alive and well, Phish or not. Anastasio absolutely rips through jams like the aforementioned “Sand,” a 10-minute version of “Money, Love and Change” and a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog.” The album is a generous selection of various styles of Anastasio, from the already mentioned explosive jams to slower ballads like “Show of Life,” which has since become part of Phish’s live repertoire. The album even touches on the sillier side of music, with “Windora Bug,” which has bassist Tony Markellis asking us “Is that a wind, or a bug?”
Again, it would have been so much more amazing for the fans if this album featured the full two set show, which include Anastasio playing a few acoustic Phish tunes and an encore of the always dazzling “First Tube.” Nonetheless, the album is still a decent offering of TAB tunes that fans will enjoy.
