Review: Trey and Classic TAB in Boston
Words and Images: S. Balaji Mani
Just across the street from Fenway Park, where Trey and Phish kicked off a long-anticipated summer tour last year, Trey and Classic TAB got down to business at Boston’s House of Blues. Coming on a little after 8:30 PM, Trey and company kicked off with the newly-arranged Shine. The brass intro foreshadowed what would be the defining element of the night, TAB’s featured three-piece horn section. The lighting went perfectly with the lyrics, with blazing yellows and whites flooding the room as Trey and the audience echoed the chorus. A bouncy and funky Cayman Review followed, with Trey bouncing up and jumping around, pointing to various fans in the audience.
A calm, dark What’s Done brought the mood down to let people catch their breath – it was also a first for this tour so far. The Birdwatcher showed up in the set as an Elvis-tinged old school rock-and-roll number, a distinct departure from its barbershop arrangement on Party Time.
Trey didn’t hesitate to introduce the newest member of the TAB family, trombonist Natalie Cressman (the first “second generation member of the band,” as her father used to play in TAB). She was beaming the whole night, and also joined Jennifer Hartswick on background vocals for most of the tunes. She really stepped out to shine on Mozambique, delivering a beautifully accented and original solo. While the first set had its moments, including another tour debut with Plasma (which was also supplemented with beautiful lighting work), the true standouts came thereafter.
Drifting led the second half of the evening, with colorful flute work from original Giant Country Horn member Russell Remington. Russell switched fluidly between percussion instruments, flute and saxophones throughout the night. The requisite TAB staple, Sand, sent everyone into a dancing frenzy.
READ ON for more of Balaji’s photos and thoughts on Classic TAB…
