Trey and Classic TAB - HoB, Boston, MA 2.12.10

I cruised up to Fenway last Friday night to catch Trey and his “Classic TAB” band at the House of Blues (the old Avalon) located about 30 feet from the green monster. It was another solo mission as my girlfriend is in Central America and unfortunately, none of my friends were able to get tickets. Anywho, now that Phish is back together it's nice to see a Trey show not as a replacement for Phish, but as a nice addition to Phish. After waiting in line for a good 20 minutes, the security searching like crazy which surely caused the huge line (all the way back to the Cask n Flagon at one point), I got ushered up to the 2^nd level of the venue which is basically a 10ft wide hallway wrapping around the room. So if you are not 6'5” or in the first row or two good luck seeing the stage.

New to this tour from the last Trey tour was the addition of a 3 piece horn section which, IMO makes all the difference. Somewhat monotonous songs like “Gotta Jibboo”, “Shine” and “Alaska” take on new levels with the brass textures. The show's set list was a nice mix of solo Trey tunes, Phish B-sides ( “Birdwatcher” for ejemplo) and the Farmhouse tunes. I definitely like the material from the self titled album the best but the newer songs sound better with Tony and Russ on rhythm detail, this is definitely my favorite TAB incarnation. The band has debuted a handful of new songs this tour which honestly don't really do it for me although, “Song of Life” is aight I guess. Highlights for me were songs like “Cayman Review”, Money Love and Change” and “What's Done”. The 2 covers of the night are among my favorites that they do, an instrumental take on the Wailer's “Small Axe” and the Dire Strait's “Sultans of Swing”. The latter containing a horn arrangement of Knopfler's iconic guitar solo. As much as I'd like to see Trey rip that solo up, I like his attempt to arrange it for horns.

As with many Trey shows, it had its peaks and valleys (by which I mean perennial suck fests with grade school level lyrics such as “Let me Lie”) but overall, the energetic dance numbers are what you take with you when you go. Dancing is important, remember I said that. As for the venue, yikes. This place kinda sucks except if you have a good view of the stage and don't need to pee ever. For the entire 2^nd and 3^rd level there is only one bathroom with 2 stalls and 1 urinal. Ridiculous...PBR's are $6 a pop (a sixer is 4 bucks at the drug store a block from my house) and security was tight. I had to empty my pockets, get frisked and take off my hat, then get my General Admission ticket scanned by atleast 4 people before entering the concert hall. I'm 6'3'' so luckily I can pretty much find a place to see anywhere but for shorter people, good luck and get there early if the show is sold out. Alright, Im trying to keep this thing short so click on the videos for a sample of the music. Trey is playing throughout the east and mid-west and south this run so go catch him if you're not too jaded and could use a good night of groove-centric, fun songs.

openers: none

Venue info:
parking: free parking on the street is pretty easy as long as the Sox arent playing at home.
layout: square, club type room with GA floor and 1st balcony, seats in 2nd blacony
capacity: 2425 (sold out)

02/12/10 House of Blues, Boston, MA
Set I (86min): Shine, Cayman Review, Push On Til the Day, What's Done, Birdwatcher, Mozambique, Night Speaks To A Woman, Alaska, Let Me Lie, Plasma, Tuesday
Set II (83min): Drifting, All That Almost Was, Sand, Goodbye Head> Gotta Jibboo, Small Axe, Valentine, Money Love and Change, Show Of Life, Dragonfly
Encore (13min): Sultans of Swing, First Tube