On Saturday, Trey Anastasio Band began their 2019 touring schedule in earnest with a performance at New Haven, CT’s College Street Music Hall.

The New Haven show came after the full outfit reunited onstage for the first time since early 2018 following Friday’s Tribeca Film Festival world premiere of Between Me and My Mind, a new documentary focusing on Anastasio, at New York’s Beacon Theatre. That show saw TAB welcome Trey’s Phish bandmate, Page McConnell, to assist on a two-song encore. This run of shows also closely follows Trey’s recent Ghosts of the Forest tour, which featured TAB bandmates Jennifer Hartswick, Ray Paczkowski, and Tony Markellis as well as Jon Fishman (Phish) and Celisse Henderson.

With all that recent playing to get the gears turning, Trey Anastasio and company came out swinging for the first full, two-set show of the tour. The first set kicked off with a rock-solid “Set Your Soul Free” followed by runs through “Sometime After Sunset” and “Alive Again”, both of which saw Trey excel as he relished the opportunity to link back up with his three-piece horn section of Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, and James Casey.

Next up was “Blaze On”, marking just the second performance of the Phish staple by Trey’s full, 8-piece solo project after introducing it to the TAB repertoire the previous night at the Beacon. He did, however, play “Blaze On” during his brief Trey Anastasio Trio run last year, and as we’d soon find out, more Phish songs played during the trio/eventually quartet tour last year are continuing to find their way into TAB setlists.

A Picture of Nectar instrumental “Magilla” was up next, followed by an excellent, slow-build “Gotta Jibboo”. Natalie Cressman brushed up on her Spanish stepped to the mic for a slinky “1977”. “Dark and Down” followed for the second time in as many nights before the band closed out their first set with a “Last Tube” that saw Russ Lawton and Tony Markellis steal the show with their airtight rhythms.

The second set began in a way that wouldn’t be out of place at a Phish show: An extended “Everything’s Right” into “Ghost”. This “Ghost” marked the first-ever rendition of the Phish fan-favorite by Trey Anastasio Band, and it truly did not disappoint. While the horns weren’t featured on this song—giving it a similar feel to the versions played by Trey, Russ, Tony, and Ray last summer—Trey’s inspired soloing and the refreshing take and additional ambiance added by this talented band make this “Ghost” is a must-listen for TAB and Phish fans alike.

Trey Anastasio Band – “Ghost” [Partial]

[Video: Ryan Grossi]

The set continued with “Mozambique”, a lengthy “Night Speaks To A Woman”, and “Curlew’s Call”. Another Phish crossover, “46 Days”, made an appearance before the band wrapped up the second set with “Shine” and a red-hot “Sand”.

When Trey returned to the stage for the encore, he did so alone, grabbing an acoustic guitar for the first portion of the curtain call. In a callback to his recent solo acoustic tours, Anastasio worked through a trio of sing-along Phish songs, “Strange Design”, “Limb by Limb”, and “Chalk Dust Torture”.

From there, the rest of the band joined him to close out the night with an energetic pairing of songs. After Hartswick led the way on the band’s adaptation of Gorillaz‘ “Clint Eastwood”, the band finished with an uplifting exclamation point in “Rise/Come Together”.

With both the songs and members of Phish and TAB intermingling more than ever in the last year—and Trey playing incredibly and feeling creatively fulfilled—2019 is shaping up to be a truly memorable year in Anastasio’s world.

You can listen to a full soundboard audio recording of the show via LivePhish.

Trey Anastasio Band’s tour continues with a pair of shows at Brooklyn, NY’s Brooklyn Bowl on Sunday and Monday, April 28th and 29th. For a full list of Trey Anastasio Band’s upcoming tour dates, head here.

Setlist: Trey Anastasio Band | College Street Music Hall | New Haven, CT | 4/27/19

Set One: Set Your Soul Free, Sometime After Sunset, Alive Again, Blaze On, Magilla, Gotta Jibboo, 1977, Dark and Down, Last Tube

Set Two: Everything’s Right, Ghost^, Mozambique, Night Speaks To A Woman, Curlew’s Call, 46 Days, Shine, Sand

Encore: Strange Design*, Limb by Limb*, Chalk Dust Torture*, Clint Eastwood, Rise/Come Together

*Trey solo acoustic, ^Trey Anastasio Band debut