Trey Anastasio Announces Free Beacon Jams Livestreams, Revives Three Songs in Nebraska

Trey Anastasio, photo by Dave Vann

Trey Anastasio rolled into La Vista, Neb. last night for the second stop on his November tour with the Trey Anastasio Band. TAB’s set at The Astro Theatre represented the Phish frontman’s first appearance in Nebraska since November 1996, when the band performed the second of only two shows in the Cornhusker State. While the long-awaited return was enough cause for celebration for local fans, Anastasio and company sustained the momentum from their debut-packed tour-opening shows in Denver by adding some unexpected rarities to their setlist.

Anastasio and TAB – featuring Russ Lawton, Ray Paczkowski, Dezron Douglas, Cyro Baptista, Natalie Cressman and Jennifer Hartswick – began their performance on Monday night with the floating funk of The Story of the Ghost classic “The Moma Dance,” which bobbed along for 11 minutes in a promising start to the evening. The bulk of the first frame consisted of live staples from Phish and Anastasio’s solo catalog, reimagined in inventive and grandiose treatments; some standouts that neared or crossed the 10-minute mark were “Alaska,” “…And Flew Away” and the 15-minute set-closer of “Everything’s Right.”

Just before racing into the intermission, Anastasio led his backing ensemble into “Burlap Sack and Pumps,” a selection from 2007’s The Horseshoe Curve that has traditionally spotlighted the horn section, for the first time since Nov. 2022. This was the first of three song resurrections strewn throughout the show. After returning for their second set with “Sightless Escape” and tearing through standards like “Wolfman’s Brother” and “Sand,” Anastasio and the band performed “Mr. Completely” for the first time since Nov. 2022, when they welcomed sit-ins from Goose’s guitarist Rick Mitarotonda and keyboardist Peter Anspach during two shows in Upstate New York. “First Tube” closed the main performance and preceded a score of “Ether Sunday” — last played in Oct. 2022 — and “What’s Going Through Your Mind.”

The Trey Anastasio Band will perform again tonight at Des Moines, Iowa’s Val Air Ballroom, then deliver five further dates through Nov. 5. Find tickets and more information at trey.com.

From Nov. 28-30, Anastasio will return to New York’s Beacon Theatre to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his unforgettable Beacon Jams with a special three-night run; in keeping with the collaborative experimentalism of the peak pandemic livestream series, he’ll perform in a variety of formations, including TAB and the return of The Rescue Squad Strings. Proceeds from the residency will support the Divided Sky Foundation.

In a manner also recalling those storied shows, Anastasio’s sold-out series will be livestreamed for free via LivePhish and nugs. Sign up for access here.