Last night, Trey Anastasio reunited with bassist Tony Markellis, drummer Russ Lawton and mainstay keyboardist Ray Paczkowski for an intimate show at Brooklyn, NY’s Music Hall of Williamsburg. Although booked as a warm up for Anastasio’s high-profile All Points West appearance, the cozy performance took on the feel of a family reunion, set against the odd backdrop of Brooklyn’s most hipster district. Anastasio also used the opportunity to work through a handful of new songs, including electric versions of the three new tunes he wrote with Tom Marshall and debuted at his solo acoustic festival appearances earlier this summer: the show-opening ‘Alaska,’ the reflective ‘Peggy’ and the bouncy ‘Backwards Down The Number Line.’ A number of Anastasio solo compositions also poked their heads out, including ‘Gone,’ ‘Valentine,’ ‘Light’ and ‘Greyhound Rising.’ But, for many, the highlights of the night were clean, high-energy takes on three Anastasio/Markellis/Lawton songs that found their way onto Phish’s Farmhouse: ‘Gotta Jibboo,’ ‘Sand’ and ‘First Tube.’
Anastasio rounded out the rest of his setlist with a mix of Trey Anastasio Band songs (‘Cayman Review,’ ‘Night Speaks To A Woman,’ ‘Drifting,’ ‘Mr. Completely’), 70 Volt Parade cuts (‘Sweet Dreams Melinda,’ ‘Tuesday,’ ‘Spin’) and rarities (‘Windora Bug,’ a reggae tune song by Markellis that Phish played twice and ‘The Way I Feel,’ a funky original from Anastasio’s initial solo release, One Man’s Trash). After finishing their set with an energetic reading of ‘First Tube,’ the quartet returned for the spirited encore of ‘Heavy Things’ and ‘Bug,’ both of which were staples on Anastasio’s first tour with Markellis and Lawton in 1999. Anastasio will perform with Classic TAB at All Points West this Sunday.