On Tuesday night, Trey Anastasio opened up his 2019 solo acoustic fall tour with a performance at Geneva, NY’s Smith Opera House.

Anastasio opened up his set with “Back On The Train” and “Sample In A Jar” before joking with the crowd about hopping on PhantasyTour.com to check out the last time Phish played the venue. Trey went on to explain that Phish last played the venue in February 1993, exactly one week after the band released their Rift LP. He thanked the crowd and explained, “It’s really a miracle how we’re all still here, together, doing this.”

Trey moved on with “Snowflakes In The Sand”, the acoustic debut of “About To Run”, and “Heavy Things”, which was followed up by some comical “Plague” banter with the crowd following the scare during this year’s Phish run at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park. Trey asked the crowd, “You guys still with me? Is everyone healthy? Does anyone have the plague? Alright, so we’re all plague free?” The set continued with “Turtle In The Clouds” and “Wolfman’s Brother” before some rowdy members of the audience asked, “Can we hear a story?”

Trey began by jokingly exclaiming, “One upon a time, there was a magical, beautiful festival planned. That’s the only story I can think of.” He went on to explain that himself and Phish bandmates Jon (Fishman), Mike (Gordon), and Page (McConnell) had named all of their festivals in the past, but Curveball was the first festival they did not name. Trey revealed comical potential names for the festival including Mike’s picks of “Rock Donkey Dungle”, “The Big Cock Sucking Dupe Fest”, and Trey’s ideas of “Exactly As Planned Ball” and “Mom Ball”.

Related: Requiem For A Curveball: Reflecting On The Phish Festival That Almost Was

Trey added, “You know, we would trace everyone’s credit card purchases and figure out who their mom was, and then secretly invite their mom. When everyone showed up, they would then be greeted at the festival by all of the moms. Like 35,000 moms shouting, ‘Hey, I’m gonna be here the whole weekend with you!’ Pretty good, right?” Trey concluded the story by sharing that the band had planned an alternative route to the campsites through “mime field”. Phish hired 50 mimes that were onsite when the festival got canceled, and Fishman ended up getting plastered with them and sending Trey pictures with the “sad, unemployed mimes”.

The Curveball (a phish story…) – Panto the Mime

[Video: Panto The Mime; H/T: Raffaele Bibbo]

Trey collected his composure and continued with “Mountains In The Mist”, “Strange Design”, “Driver”, “Sleep”, “Water In The Sky”, “Brian and Robert”, and “Theme From The Bottom”. He then dove into a story about Phish playing Geneva’s Hobart campus in 1989. “They had this thing that was a beer moat. We set up our gear all day on this little stage right in the middle of Hobart campus. About 100 yards from the stage, they had a fenced-in area with a keg. There wasn’t one person in front of the stage. Anyone who was there to *quote-unquote* ‘see the concert’ was in the beer moat way across the field. And, that’s my story about Hobart. Thank you, I’m gonna play more songs now—or tell you other possible festival names.”

Trey pushed on with “Shade”, “We Are Come To Outlive Our Brains”, “Sand”, “The Inlaw Josie Wales”, “Limb By Limb”, “Chalk Dust Torture”, “Harry Hood”, back into “Chalk Dust”, “The Wedge”, and a set-closing take on “Bathtub Gin”. Following a brief break, Trey returned to deliver a four-song encore, which began with “Waste” and “Lifeboy”. Trey then offered up the second solo acoustic debut of the night with “Ghosts Of The Forest”, marking the first time the song has been played outside of his Ghosts of the Forest sets. Trey brought things to a close with “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”.

Trey Anastasio – Smith Opera House – 10/15/19 – Full Audio

[Audio: Jam Buzz]

Tonight, Wednesday, October 16th, Trey Anastasio solo acoustic tour continues with a performance at Dayton, OH’s Victoria Theatre. Head to Trey’s website for a full list of his upcoming tour dates, ticketing, and more information.

Setlist: Trey Anastasio | Smith Opera House | Geneva, NY | 10/15/2019

Set One: Back on the Train [1], Sample in a Jar[1], Snowflakes in the Sand[1], About to Run [2], Heavy Things[1], Turtle in the Clouds[1], Wolfman’s Brother[1], Mountains in the Mist[1], Strange Design[1], Driver[1], Sleep[1], Water in the Sky[1], Brian and Robert[1], Theme From the Bottom[1], Shade[1], We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains[1], Sand[1] > The Inlaw Josie Wales[1], Limb By Limb[1] > Chalk Dust Torture[1] > Harry Hood[1] > Chalk Dust Torture[1] > The Wedge[1] > Bathtub Gin[1]

Encore: Waste[1], Lifeboy[1], Ghosts of the Forest[2], Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.[1]

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