Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL February 19, 2010

Typically jam band concerts are outdoors and in venues that give the audience the room it needs to spread out. When I found out that Trey Anastasio, the lead singer and guitarist of Phish, was playing a show at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre I immediately jumped at the chance to see him play in an unusually intimate venue.

Anastasio is best known for his work with Phish, one of the most influential jam bands of the 80s and 90s. After the band broke up in 2000, Anastasio pursued a series of pet projects and solo efforts including collaborations with Les Claypool, Phillip Glass and Tom Marshall. With over three decades of work to his name Anastasio has become an almost cult figure in the jam band community.

It is no surprise than that his show was sold out and filled to the brim with devoted followers. Now I’ve been to a lot of shows, it’s what I do, but few can compare to ones filled with hippies. Everything, from the music to the dancing, is completely free form.

I learned long ago that what you see in front of you at a jam concert is not always the complete picture. One has to take into account the fact that a good portion of the audience is totally wasted by the time the concert actually starts. Whether they are on hallucinogenics or simply pot most everyone’s mind is working on a completely different wavelength for the duration of the show.

That is why, unlike most concerts, the show is best appreciated with your eyes closed. Anastasio and his band have a tendency to extend their songs into improvisational territory where a single song can last nearly 15 minutes. Of course it is almost impossible to notice as the music has a way of getting inside of you and taking you on a journey.

As not only a guitarist but also a singer and composer Anastasio knew just the right chords to bring the audience higher and higher. Even when the rest of his band cleared out and he played a short acoustical set each note seemed to speak directly to the crowd.

Anastasio certainly knows his way around a guitar. I have to admit, as the concert continued Anastasio reminded me more and more of Eric Clapton. Not all will agree with me but take him out of the jam band element and on his own he can really shred on guitar.

As the night came to a close the energy created by the music continued on. Many will follow Anastasio throughout the country creating their own community as they do. The party never truly stops.

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