Trey was there(kinda)

And Then There Was Trey

Bonnaroo 2005 by Jeremy JonesPerhaps the most important responsibility that the press has is to expose the truth and keep those with the power in check. While clearly not as critical to public safety and the development of a healthy society, music journalists - like news journalists - have to be honest and hold those in power accountable for their actions. There was a day when Trey Anastasio was the leader of the Jam Scene. Without question his band Phish dictated policy for years. It's with all this in mind that the words are that much harder to muster. I had considered not even mentioning Trey's late night set at Bonnaroo, but to say nothing would be negating the responsibility of the press.

The rumor mill is working overtime trying to figure out what has happened to Trey. Regardless of how or why, Trey has rubbed up against hard times. First he pulls the plug on Phish insinuating something about not wanting to become a caricature of himself, not wanting to be a novelty act, and desiring a new musical path. Then his Zooma Tour is cancelled for lack of sales. Then there was Bonnaroo. Billed as a "Special Late Night Show," the only thing special about it was how incredibly poor and unsatisfying it was. Having left a hot Secret Machines set to see Trey's "old man review" was, for lack of a better word, sad.

Perhaps the most confusing aspect of all this is the motivation. To see a band shoot for the stars and fall on their face is far more appealing than watching an incredibly talented musician flounder aimlessly. Seeing him play more covers than originals, one has to question the whole nostalgia act argument. Why leave Phish in fear of novelty to run through mailed-in versions of other people's songs? Top this off with an appearance by American Idol's runner-up Bo Bice, and it becomes impossible for the press to not call out one of the world's greatest guitarists. One does not travel to Bonnaroo to watch Bo Bice. This is in fact the exact opposite reason why 80,000 flock to Manchester. Bonnaroo is a way to escape the homogenization and commodification of our musical world. It's a place where creativity and originality are revered. Please leave American Idol out of it. Lets be realistic and have some perspective on all this as well. While it's true that Trey's set was even more disappointing than expected, it is also necessary to view this situation with a bit of distance. Trey is clearly in a transitional period of his life/career. Break-ups and transitions are always difficult; Trey just has the good fortune to be doing this in front of a live audience. When life pulls us down most of us can hide on the couch, in the bar, or on the corner. Trey is a public figure he is not afforded such luxuries. Whether or not he should be opening the floodgates and headlining high profile events such as Saturday Late Night at Bonnaroo is an entirely different discussion, one that seems to have answered itself. But Trey was only one act amongst a plethora of amazing shows, if you're gonna let one set ruin your good time, well, then that's your fault.

 

Yeah... Trey kind of fucked himself over on this one.

 

I just thought that was so funny after hearin how "great" treys set was...

 

that set kicked ass....so for one song, Bo Bice, came out....boo hoo....i hate all you people who get bummed out by 3 minutes of a show you didn't like.....i hated when kid rock came out with Phish, but they still continued to kick every other bands ass....i was just at WAKARUSA, and the bands were great, but they never reached the level of expertise that PHISH does.....or even a side project of PHISH.....your complaining about covers? Phish was always playing covers.....in 1998 every show was a release of a new cover.....i don't know why i'm wasting my time....your all just haters, and that will never change....hey next time, don't go!!!!! so there will be room for the real fans.....

 

I meant that he kind of fucked himself over by leaving phish, for the most part.

 

Its kinda sad honestly. I've just been watching this downward spiral for years. I'm not a hater at all, I still listen to many pre-hiatus shows all the time and I've heard a few post hiatus that were quite good, but many more that were not. But something is not right with the man, his friends around Burlington have been saying it for years.

 

Yeah, I think Trey is a little nuts, myself.

 

First Of All I Dont Think Trey Originally Left Phish By Himself, Rumor Has It That Page (the Unsung Hero Of Phish) Was Getting Tired Of All The Partyin -well To Put It At Point Blank He Wanted To Settle Down AND THEN TREY KIND OF WENT WITH IT CUASE HE WANTED TO TRY NEW THINGS- So trey is great but phish is not there without Page or Mike or fish

 

um no

it was Trey's choice and his alone. I 'grew' up with Phish living in Vermont and am friends with many of the 'phamily'. This was Trey's choice, partly because of his own desire to branch out and do something different, partly because the energy and consistency in their playing had diminished quite a bit, but more so because of money. Phish had become a business. Dinonysian productions employed a number of people and the payroll was very large requiring them to play quite a few shows a year to support it, which Trey no longer wanted to do. Granted Page didn't want to tour quite so much to an extent, as like you said, he did want to settle down some, but not so much as to 'break up' the band and send out some phoney excuse that they didn't want to become a nostalgia act or whatever. Hence, Trey broke up Phish, Dinonysian was dissolved, numerous people lost their jobs and he signed on with the management of Dave Mathews Band to promote himself.

That's no rumor, that's the truth coming from people who used to work with the band.

 

Well at least i was on the track a little

 

Mike was the only one who didn't want to break up. This came out of Trey's mouth on Charlie Rose. As far as his set at bonnaroo goes it was a good time. I guess cause I went in with the attitude that this band is not Phish, I really enjoyed it. Who could of guessed Bo Bice was going to be one of his guests?? Along with Matisyahu, who was great. Personally I would have liked to see Les Claypool over Bo Bice, but it was fun, and unexpected and Panama is a great song. Also Funk #49, Night Speaks to a Woman, 46 Days, No Woman No Cry, and Golden Slumbers> Carry That Weight> The End all made it a much better Trey show than last years Bonnaroo IMO.

 

your out of your fucking mind, the post hiatus shit is amazing. i know what kind of person you are....your an elitist. you like to dog on shit, so you sound smarter and above the topic....whatever though....when Phish comes back---DON'T COME!!!! i've said that a million times to a million people....if you don't like it stop going....so there will be room for the people who appreciate the greatness.....

 

I'm glad Phish is broken up. No matter how great it would have been to see them live, it is far better to know that Phish is preserved in hisory now, where no one can touch it... it will be perfect in memory forever. I don't think I could stand to see the inevitable decline of such a great band. Whatever Trey does now, no one can take his past away from him... whether or not his part in rock history is finished, he made it, and that's that.

It's so hard to get that far once, imagine how difficult it must be to make it twice. No one can expect that kind of success twice in a lifetime.

 

I'm not an elitist at all. I loved almost every show I saw from 93 til 99, particularly the first 3 years. I've listened to plenty of post hiatus stuff and plenty of my friends who have seen them hundreds of times all that the same thing, the quality of the performances went down significantly, the energy wasn't always there, many things. I started noticing that from 98 on. This is my opinion, call it elitist if you want, I honestly don't care. This is also the opinion of the vast majority of the 'phamily' here in Burlington who have been there since the beginning. Things just weren't the same with the boys and it wasn't as good as it once was a lot of the time.

Many people say the same thing about the later years of the Grateful Dead. I loved 89, 90 and 91. 92 and 93 were piss pour years. I enjoyed 94' immensely - the fall tour was the best in years and included some of the best versions of certain tunes ever played. But, I will say in 95' the shows were pretty awful. It was still great to see them, but there were some moments where they just were missing everything on stage, which was sad to see. I still loved seeing them though. I'd probably enjoy seeing Phish again, but I've never had the same passion for them as I have had for the Dead. The only band that comes close in my mind is Assembly of Dust.

 

Its funny how these kids who know nothing about the great days of Phish talk about how great the last few years were...

 

Phish has been a force in my life since 1996....i have extensive amounts of Phish shows from 1986 to 2004.....if you can't dig the last couple of years your thick.....thats all i gotta say....

 

I have tons of shows from their early days to the last tour. Personally, I'll love a 2000 show just as much as a 2004 show; I'll love a 1997 show just as much as a 2003 show. I don't care what anybody says, the last tour was smoking!

 

I say Trey is doin fine. give him a little leway and a little more time, it takes awhile to get back on top of things.

 

hell yeah, thats what i'm talking about!

 

Selective Capitilization Is Cool!