Review: Trey Anastasio @ the Ogden Theatre, Day 2

Review By Jason Blevins

This article was originally published here.
For a second sold-out night, Trey Anastasio slack-jaw stalked the Ogden Theatre stage, crouching with his guitar as he raced through some 30 songs in three hours.

From the early first set acoustic crooning –- “Sample in a Jar,” “Horse>Silent in the Morning” — to the second-set throbbing “Sand,” Anastasio and his top-notch band played more of a vast list of songs than a cohesive show. Not bothering with a vibe or theme, Big Red captained his crew through rocking reggae, calypso, orchestral and occasionally improvised jams.

Lacking the delicate touch of Jorma Kaukonen, Anastasio’s acoustic virtuosity lies more in his composition. His acoustic “My Friend, My Friend” dripped with nylon-stringed classical riffs. “Runaway Jim” galloped with an Ozark twang, devolving into a bonfire singalong, straight outta Camp Weekapaug. “Carini” returned to Anastasio’s Phish roots, which carried into a crowd-sparked “Wilson.” Bathed in the expertly choreographed LED lights of Phish lightman Chris Kuroda, Anastasio’s “Shine a Light” seemed a nod to his longtime friend behind the lightboard.

Joined by Russell Remington on sax, teenager Natalie “Chainsaw” Cressman on trombone and Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet, Anastasio transitioned out of his solo indulgence with a perfectly mixed “Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan” that marked a first-ever all-brass backing for Trey’s Martin acoustic.

Strapping on the electric, Anastasio’s rowdy “Push On ‘Til The Day” layered his signature elongated chords over mighty blasts from the black-dressed ladies.

Ray Paczkowski on keys took the lead early in the second-set opener “Cayman Review,” while Anastasio sulked across the stage with his Ocelet-encrusted Languedoc electric. Hartswick and Cressman’s stunningly strong vocals fueled an early dance party in the barn-burning “Money Love and Change” as Paczkowski’s keywork prodded Anastasio into deep, exploratory riffs.

As “Mozambique” spilled into “Simple Twist Up Dave,” Kuroda’s lights danced on the offerings from an army of volunteer fog makers. Kuroda cannot be overlooked as a vital contributor to the Trey Anastasio Band, just as he is with Phish. Able to veer from frantic, seizure-inducing blasts into a soothing, gentle pulse in milliseconds, Kuroda has seen probably more Anastasio guitar solos than anyone and seamlessly weaves his ever-dancing lights into his muse’s aural tapestry. As Anastasio fired up the first licks of what would become a show highlighting “Sand,” Kuroda’s lights seems to enchant the boss, who stared agape into the rainbow mist as his fingers frolicked.

Following a big-band swinging “Bird Watcher” encore, Hartswick breathed deep and belted out a “Hey hey mama” that detonated a by-the-books fiery rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog.” Instead of going deep into emulating Jimmy Page, Anastasio instead turned to his longtime TAB cohort Hartswick and edged her into a rich and resonant vocal jam that ended a vibrant two-night stand at one of Denver’s best rooms.