PicoBlog

Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB began a three-night stand at Brooklyn Steel last night, coming out of the gate with a serious sense of purpose and a commitment to some excellent jamming. It could not have been more different from the more mid-tempo grooves that were highlighted in Toronto on Saturday, instead containing some elusive Type II TAB improv among the many standout moments.

The night began with “The Moma Dance,” bassist Dezron Douglas’ punchy tone immediately shaking the room as we dove into the deep groove. Anastasio stuck to a rhythm-based role for much of the jam, allowing for keyboardist Ray Paczkowski to lay down some dense textures on organ, adding a spooky undertone to the music.

A solid peak brought the opener to a close and Anastasio bounced through “Back on the Train” next, highlighted by Paczkowski’s exuberant Wurlitzer playing. “Steam” offered a slower and more brooding counterpoint to the upbeat first two tracks and let Anastasio utilize his guitar-god chops. Beginning the jam with some heavy emphasis on his Whammy pedal, the guitarist let loose blistering leads before fading into a more full-band motif. Douglas’ heavy playing right in drummer Russ Lawton’s pocket developed an incredible space with staccato guitar stabs and constant organ layers from Paczkowski. Anastasio eventually went back to lead work, augmenting his crystal-clear tone for some aggressive peaking that brought the jam to a close.

TAB classic “Drifting” led into another foray into the deep grooves with “Spin.” Always one of my favourite songs in the catalog, the quiet jam showed some real patience from the quartet as Paczkowski gently laid down a soft bed of piano, Anastasio’s searching guitar gradually increasing in intensity and force with the band following his lead.

The highlight of the first set came after an absolutely ferocious peak as the band launched into “Pillow Jets.” Aside from a brief timing-related hiccup on the intro, the song was well played before a breathtaking Type II jam developed. Lawton hit into an upbeat groove as Paczkowski and Anastasio sparred with each other, tossing melodies and riffs back and forth with practiced ease. Anastasio began to darken his playing, opting for increased layers of delay, driving the music in a much more chaotic direction. The rhythm section increased their aggression as Paczkowski began to mimic some of Anastasio’s delay work, eventually coming back to earth into an upbeat progression. Douglas began to really dig in over the next several minutes, supporting Anastasio’s frenzied soloing as the guitarist hosed down the crowd with his fretboard fireworks.

The set easily could have ended there, but TAB opted to give us another dose of funk with “Wolfman’s Brother.” I mentioned in my recap of the Toronto show that this song suits this lineup’s musical style exceptionally well. The highlight of this song came in Paczkowski’s repeated hypnotic chords, doubling Wurli and piano for a really cool layered sound.

The second set began with an electric “No Men in No Man’s Land,” venturing into a breezy and extended jam full of memorable guitar riffs and licks from Anastasio. The quartet blazed through several peaks before quieting down and letting Paczkowski take the lead on organ as the jam drifted into a couple minutes of outside-the-box exploration before winding down into “…And Flew Away.”

I’ve always found this song’s multi-sectional nature to be engaging, each part having its own catchy hooks and lyrics – though my favourite has to be the ripping ending jam, which picked up right where “NMINML” left off in an aggressive and charging zone. Douglas built some serious tension throughout, egging on Anastasio through the blazing finish.

The next segment of the set offered some more mellow songs in recently-debuted “The Kid in the Sky,” “Monsters,” and “Evolve.” I’m a fan of all three, though definitely would have preferred to see them split up with more improv scattered through the middle of the second set.

It was time to get back into heavy territory with “The Well,” which opened in a very different style than we have been familiar with on previous plays. This funkier mode allowed Douglas to really stand out. I was very pleasantly surprised when the band embarked on some of the best jamming of the night out of the song proper, rather than transitioning to the dark “bottom of the well” jam that usually signals the time for improv.

Lawton dug in on the shuffle-funk beat as Anastasio layered some delay work, kind of working around the edges of some very “Oblivion”-like play by the 9-minute mark. While “The Well” jam largely stuck to one singular idea, I’ve already gone back to listen multiple times – the pocket is INCREDIBLE.

The second set ended with a standard and energetic “Everything’s Right,” a favourite pick by Anastasio in this slot.

The encore began with acoustic guitar-infused renditions of “When The Words Go Away” and “Heavy Things” ahead of a blistering run through “Ghost” to finish up the night.

With two more nights to go, I eagerly look forward to hearing some deeper cuts from the TAB catalog as well as how the jams continue to develop with the quartet’s rising comfort level with each other and the venue.

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