Thursday's Earful: Trey Anastasio @ Terminal 5; U-Melt; Licorice

By: David Schultz

At the end of Trey Anastasio’s mammoth first set at Terminal 5 this past Tuesday, the Classic TAB went backstage, leaving the guitarist to accompany himself with an acoustic guitar. What followed were twenty or so minutes of what makes going to live shows meaningful and worthwhile. Starting with “Brian And Robert,” Anastasio played an acoustic set of Phish tunes that included “Strange Design,” “Sample In A Jar,” “Chalk Dust Torture” and “Wilson.” Anastasio didn’t do anything revelatory with the arrangements, in fact, they were relatively basic. The mini-acoustic set in and of itself wasn’t a rarity nor were any of the songs being dusted off after a period of dormancy. What made the moment so compelling and near-magical was the unanimity of purpose in the room. The sold-out crowd wanted to hear some Phish and Anastasio was giving them what they desired. The communal feeling that spread throughout Terminal 5 was palpable.

Over the course of three plus hours, Anastasio stretched out solo material like “Drifting” and “Night Speaks To A Woman” and Phish-TAB hybrids like “First Tube” and “Gotta Jiboo.” He even included a remarkable faithful cover of Dire Straits’ “Sultans Of Swing,” which received a phenomenal jolt from the horn section of Jen Hartswick and Natalie Cressman. At the end of the second set, Hartswick managed to steal the show, letting loose on “Black Dog,” her voice coming closest to Robert Plant’s preternatural howl then he has in decades. Still, the star of the show was the man whose name topped the marquee. Anastasio remains an enthralling guitarist, possessed of that rare ability to bring a crowd wherever they want to go. Songs that went five minutes, could have gone ten, those that went ten could have gone twenty. His is a rare and often undervalued gift.

For all of Terminal 5’s faults, it can be a tremendous room when the vibe is right and it takes a jamband crowd to make that happen. Aloof hipsters can’t generate the feel, if a truly collective moment happened in their presence, their ethic wouldn’t let them participate as it would make them part of the crowd. Younger crowds can’t do it either; forced eagerness kills the mood like Lenny handling rabbits. Jamband crowds get it right, whether through conscious recognition or an innate feel, they appreciatively dive right in and embrace the occasion. For those who don’t understand, being part of a crowd willing to briefly shut out the worries of the world and share their excitement over hearing a song may seem like a silly concept. Those who have experienced it, like those at Terminal 5 this past Tuesday, will tell you that it can revitalize the soul.

U-MELT WILL CELEBRATE THE RELEASE of Perfect World, their third studio album, with a CD release party this Saturday night at the Bowery Ballroom. It will be their debut at New York City's finest venue and for many, the first opportunity to see and hear the band with Kevin Griffin, their new guitarist. The stars seemed aligned for a special evening. At the CD release party for The I's Mind at the now transplanted Knitting Factory, U-Melt played "Clear Light," "Elysian Fields" and "Perfect World," three songs included on Perfect World, for the first time and the crowd engaged in an epic glow stick fight.

ON TUESDAY NIGHT, Licorice will play a late-night, after-hours gig at Sullivan Hall as part of the post Furthur festivities at Sullivan Hall. Let's face facts, if you're going to see Furthur on a Tuesday night, you weren't planning on working the next day anyway. Jerry Garcia always compared Grateful Dead fans to Licorice fans. He may have been talking about the candy but then again, people have always thought Garcia to have supernatural abilities. Maybe he saw the future.