Trey Anastasio Brings Live Debuts and Rarities to Iowa, Phish Release 1990 Archival Show with John Popper Sit-In

Trey Anastasio, photo by Bill Kelly

Trey Anastasio pulled into Des Moines, Iowa last night for another performance on his November run with the Trey Anastasio Band. The first week of this highly anticipated return to the road with his namesake ensemble has been a rare treat for attendees in the Midwest – Iowans caught their first local show from any Phish-related project in 25 years – and fans watching on from afar. After consistent debuts and rarities on the tour’s first three nights, Tuesday’s show brought even more first-time live treatments.

TAB – featuring Anastasio and his band of Russ Lawton, Ray Paczkowski, Dezron Douglas, Cyro Baptista, Natalie Cressman, Jennifer Hartswick and Kenneth Whalum – began their show at the Val Air Ballroom with the Plasma selection “Mozambique,” then tore off into the staples “Set Your Soul Free” and “Stash.” The septet worked through other tried and true selections from the catalogs of Trey and Phish, like “Spin,” “Shine” and “46 Days,” they made history with their first public performance of “Waste”; the Billy Breathes classic has been an Anastasio solo acoustic staple since 2003, but was only performed once by the full TAB band during October 16, 2020’s Beacon Jams stream.

The Trey Anastasio Band closed the first frame with “Push On ‘Til the Day” and returned for their second set with “No Men in No Man’s Land.” “Plasma” was the first of four tracks in the second set that stretched past 11 minutes, followed by “Night  Speaks to a Woman,” “Last Tube” and a set-closing “Sand.” Despite these expansive jams, the latter act’s most notable moment was its shortest entry, as the four-minute version of “Bouncing Around the Room” was the band’s first since September 2021 and second ever.

Anastasio and company wrapped up their show with a 15-minute segue pairing of “A Life Beyond the Dream” and “Say It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.,” the latter of which had only previously received a full-band treatment during Oct. 30, 2020’s Beacon Jams stream. The band will perform again tonight at The Factory in Chesterfield, Mo., then deliver four further dates through Nov. 25. Find tickets and more information at trey.com.

From Nov. 28-30, Anastasio will celebrate the fifth anniversary of his unforgettable Beacon Jams with a special three-night return to New York’s Beacon Theatre. The retrospective series will mirror the collaborative experimentalism of the pandemic livestream series by setting the musician within a variety of formations, including TAB and the return of The Rescue Squad Strings. To recall the Beacon Jams’ charitable and community-focused purpose, proceeds from all ticket sales will support the Divided Sky Foundation, and all three sold-out shows will stream for free via LivePhish and nugs.net.

While Phish will remain away from the stage until their 18th annual New Year’s stand at Madison Square Garden, there’s been no shortage of updates from the band to tide fans over. On Monday, the group opened the archive once again to share a full-show recording of their Dec. 28, 1990 performance at bygone New York nightclub The Marquee; Phish’s first show with Ron Delsener Presents featured a litany of memorable moments, including a sit-in from Blues Traveler’s John Popper on “No Good Trying” > “Hold Your Head Up,” “Funky Bitch” and the Phish-Popper co-write “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” which built on the original “Reba” arrangement and was performed for the third and final time. Listen to the historic show here.