Trey Anastasio’s Ghost of The Forest Tour Executes Ambitious Two Hour Plus Show at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre (SHOW REVIEW/PHOTOS)

Trey Anastasio brought his new project – known as Ghosts of the Forest – to the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on April 19, 2019. It was the penultimate stop of a short nine-city tour and will likely be the only time this group performs.

Yo La Tengo opened the show with a short set of trippy, electronic and punk tunes. The trio warmed up the slow-arriving crowd on a chilly evening and drew nice applause with their excellent playing.

Anastasio was inspired to write new songs by the tragic death of his longtime friend Chris Cottrell, who died in early 2018. He considered Cottrell a “blood brother” that he had known since childhood. The new band, as well as the accompanying new album that was released on April 12th, showcase these deeply personal songs that came from Anastasio’s grief.

While his main band Phish is considered the centerpiece of the jam scene, Anastasio has occasionally worked on other projects. His Trey Anastasio Band goes on tour when Phish has down time and he was the co-frontman of the short-lived Oysterhead and over the years he has done one-off symphonic concerts accompanied by orchestras. But this is his first new proper band in over a decade and while it might be new, the lineup is familiar to anyone that has followed his career.

Ghosts of the Forest features Phish drummer Jon Fishman, bassist Tony Markellis, keyboardist Ray Paczkowski and vocalist Jennifer Hartswick come from his Trey Anastasio Band. Singer Celisse Henderson is the only wildcard, but she also has a historic connection with Trey, having sung with Phish during their 2016 Ziggy Stardust Halloween set in Las Vegas.

The Greek Theatre show followed the same setlist as the other shows on the tour. Playing with the usual improvisational flourish that Anastasio is known for, the band performed all nine of the new songs on the album. Additional new tracks that did not make it onto the album filled out the nearly three-hour show. Anastasio handled the vocals, accompanied by harmonies and occasional solo embellishments from Hartswick and Henderson. Hartswick is a prolific trumpeter but she left that instrument at home for the Ghosts shows.

On “Sightless Escape,” “The Green Truth” and “Shadows Thrown by Fire” the ladies got their chance to show off their incredible pipes. However, most of the show was about the instrumental talents of the male quartet. Fishman and Markellis, experts at holding down the beats, kept things going as Anastasio and Paczkowski created funky, trippy melodies and played awe-inspiring solos.

Paczkowski was really impressive with keyboard solos on “The Green Truth,” “Stumble Into Flight” and “Ruby Waves.” Anastasio always puts on a magical display with his guitar skills and this night was no exception. For a change of pace, he played acoustic guitar on “If Again.” Later, for the encore, he came out alone with an acoustic guitar to play the melancholy ballad “Brief Time.” The rest of the band came back out to finish the gig as Anastasio introduced them to loud applause.

The show ended with “Pieces in the Machine,” an electric, rocking song, featuring three-part harmonies and great instrumentals. Ghosts of the Forest lived up to high expectations. If we never see this special band or hear these new songs again, it would be a shame. Knowing Anastasio, we’ll surely hear some of these excellent songs played live in the future, only they will likely be performed by Phish and the Trey Anastasio Band.