This, video taken from the pit of Phish’s recent performance in Alpharetta, Georgia, is a fantastic window into the performing mindset of Trey Anastasio. It’s all there…the way he swims in the music and gazes at the crowd in front of him as he improvises his solo. On a near nightly basis, this man works in front of massive bouncing crowds of devoted phans directing their extremely focused attention on his musical (and for some, spiritual) essence. In this video, you can really see the pleasure he gets from tinkering with that incredible dynamic through the melodic passages of his guitar. This is what true performance is all about. Hopefully some day I will be able to exercise those skills as well…
On a side note, this has been the most exciting Phish tour to date for me despite the fact that I haven’t gone to a single show this year. Usually I get one in every year and don’t think much about the band, but this year it’s been the opposite. I’ve been following every one of their shows online for my work at Source Audio. We met with them at the start of the tour and added some Soundblox pedals to Mike Gordons stage rig and custom made an Envelope Filter pedal for Trey to mess around with off stage. As a result, I’ve been listening in to every show so far to catch clips of Mike grooving out on his new stuff…and he has been tearing those pedals UP. They’ve been absolutely on fire this tour. Don’t listen to the jaded veteran phans who trash the newcomers and this tour. It’s a very energizing feeling to know that these guys are out there making real rock and roll happen.
