Phish frontman Trey Anastasio began a solo acoustic fall tour at Ikeda Theater At Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona on Monday night. Anastasio mixed material from various eras and projects of his career, told stories and unveiled unplugged renditions of two songs from Phish’s Kasvot Växt Halloween set as part of opening night in Mesa.

Halloween was clearly on the minds of many of those in the audience as Trey was greeted by screams of “faceplant into rock,” the English translation of Kasvot Växt í rokk. The guitarist decided to open with “Turtle In The Clouds,” the first track from Phish’s recent musical costume. He noted it was “the quiet folk version” of the tune written in “the cold, wet, lonely, snowy landscape of loneliness.” Trey quipped, “I didn’t think I would start the show with a cover” after the song and joked he played it by request instead of “Jennifer Dances,” which he proclaimed as his “favorite Phish song.”


Anastasio continued on with solo acoustic staples such as “Strange Design,” “The Inlaw Josie Wales” and “Sample In A Jar.” Trey noted it had been a while since he or Phish performed in the area and that he hoped to get back soon. He discussed how much he liked the room and shared a theory that sometimes when he plays a new guitar, he feels the instrument hasn’t accepted that it’s not a tree anymore. A run of “Heavy Things,” “Limb By Limb” and “Wolfman’s Brother” was followed by Trey pointing out that he drooled at the end of the “Wolfman’s” jam. Anastasio mentioned his Phish band mates told him they’d need to get him a drool cup one of these days and that Santana had once pointed out his frequent drooling.

He then related the tale of the night Phish played the nearby Celebrity Theatre on March 16, 1993 and Trey’s grandmother was serenaded by her husband Harry Jones. Harry sang “You Gotta See Mama Every Night” by Con Conrad and Billy Rose to his wife with Phish backing him. Anastasio honored his grandmother and Harry by performing “You Gotta See Mama Every Night” in Mesa.

Trey went on to perform such beloved classics as “Brian & Robert,” “Mountains In The Mist,” “The Wedge,” “Waste” and “Pebbles & Marbles” as part of his 21-song main set. Anastasio worked in “Till We Meet Again,” an instrumental he wrote for his lifelong friend Chris Cottrell as he succumbed to cancer, towards the end of the set. The guitarist took a request for “Pebbles & Marbles” and noted it had been a while since he performed the tune. He then closed out the frame with “Free,” “Bouncing Around The Room” and “Wilson.”

Anastasio kicked off his encore with “Rubberneck Lions” from his Oysterhead project that also featured Les Claypool and Stewart Copeland. Trey then mashed up “Ghost” with Kasvot Växt track “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” He noted there was a missing verse he didn’t perform on Halloween, however Anastasio decided against singing it in Mesa. The concert came to a conclusion with “More.” Next up for Trey is a Wednesday night show in Santa Barbara.


Videos (Captured by rdeal1999)

Turtle In The Clouds


Rubberneck Lions, Ghost > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S. > Ghost > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S., More

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDKhtqUikZshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXzV_WRiS1s

Set: Turtle in the Clouds[1], Strange Design[2], The Inlaw Josie Wales[2], Sample in a Jar[2], Theme From the Bottom[2], Heavy Things[2], Limb By Limb[2], Wolfman’s Brother[2], You Gotta See Mama Every Night[1], Brian and Robert[2], Mountains in the Mist[2], Everything’s Right[2], The Wedge[2], All of These Dreams[2], Till We Meet Again[2], Let Me Lie[2], Waste[2], Pebbles and Marbles[2], Free[2], Bouncing Around the Room[2], Wilson[2]

Encore: Rubberneck Lions[2], Ghost[2] > Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.[1] > Ghost[2] > Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.[2], More[2]

[1] Trey solo acoustic; first acoustic performance by Trey.

[2] Trey solo acoustic.

This entire show was performed by Trey solo acoustic and featured the first Trey acoustic performance of Turtle in the Clouds, You Gotta See Mama Every Night, and Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S..