Fox Theatre, Detroit, MI

Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 23:15:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: David Levine [email protected]
Subject: detroit review

Just want to point out that this show has huge
versions of several tunes. Even given this band's
tendancy to stretch things out, the Fox show is
relentless. Night speaks to a woman is over 22 minutes
and brings the house down to open. money, love and
change holds down its rightful mantle atop the first
set at over 28 minutes. There is a monster version of
this song in the first set of almost every show. I
think they do play this one every night - wonderful
tune folks! Alive Again to finish the set is not
particularily long but finds a dark place very quickly
that is completely unlike the album. Listening to this
jam makes it easy to see how trey found a spot to
tease stash the next time out. First set- 4songs.Meat.

The Last Tube in the second set is 45 minutes long.
Reading this stat just before burning the disc was
shocking. I had no idea. It seemed long at the time,
but jeez. I'll have to give this one a few listens to
see if I can get as lost in it as I was at the show.
This dwarfs the 41 minute Mr. Completely (well maybe
not dwarfs) from Vegas and must be the longest single
version of one tune from the tour (?). The sand to
close the set is around 17 minutes and is buttery
goodness. Makes alot of the Farmhouse album seem like
it was recorded by the wrong band. sand, jiboo and 
First Tube were meant to be played this way. 
The layers!! Sultans of Swing was more icing on an
already extra-rich Forest Cake.

Add all of the above to the fact that Trey seems
happier than he's been for about half a decade and you
start to think maybe he should stick with this unit
for a while. Meanwhile setlists from the last two
weeks have been looking more and more interesting.
Sandwiches are appearing and Quantegy has been played.
The head/hair shake is back! What is Olivia?       
I'm loving this. Fits the era. That is all.

david A. levine   Toronto Angry Mob

oh yeah. the Claypool, Buckethead, Worell, and Brain
thing at the small venue at Bonarroo will probably be
the most deadly show of the whole summer. I hope some
folks skip Phil and Friends to check it out. If by
some remote shot, someone actually tapes it and reads
this: I grovel in advance. Thank you in advance. 


Date: Sun, 09 Jun 2002 12:20:03 -0400
From: Cory Tressler [email protected]
Subject: review trey detroit rock city

�^�It^�s Too Hot For That Hat, Cyro^�
Trey Anastasio Band ^� 6/7/02
The Fox Theatre ^� Detroit, MI
as reviewed by Cory Tressler

����������� Groove.� That^�s the one word that best describes Trey Anastasio and his solo band.�
From the moment they hit the stage at the beautiful Fox Theatre in Detroit, Trey and his band were
grooving.�� Night Speaks to a Woman was the opener and ^�my oh my^� was it some opener.� Now I^�ve
had the pleasure of seeing Trey as a member Phish, and I^�ve also had the pleasure of seeing him
solo in every incarnation he has presented.� I saw his first solo show in Ann Arbor, Michigan when
it was just Trey (guitar impresario) with Tony and Russ as his backing rhythm section.� Then, when
Trey added horns to his band last year I was able to see the Anastasio/Medeski explosion that was
Deer Creek, and then a sweaty summer night in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio.� At all of these
shows I went away happy, but none of these shows (even the Creek with John Medeski) can compare to
how his band sounds this year.� Amazingly tight at all times, with some great individual interplay
between Trey and each member of his talented backing band.

����������� Night Speaks to a Woman was a great start, complete with a long (20 minutes) jammed
out instrumental section.� Throughout the night, the four-piece horn section walked on and off
stage depending on the song and often added extra percussion to the grooves when horns weren^�t
needed.� These moments of Bass, Drums, Percussion, and Trey greatly added to the flow of the show
and made the times when the horn section went all out horn crazy really special and memorable.��

����������� The first set ^�only^� consisted of four songs, but was completely satisfying.� Each
song was action packed and explosive.� Trey did not rely on his superior guitar skills to carry
any moment of the first set, instead he let the full sound of his original melodies do all the
work.� The horns and especially the newly added flutist were the stars of the first set, and they
gave each one of Trey^�s compositions new life and energy.

����������� Set breaks are set breaks, much like all that come before and like all that will come
in the future.� But, thanks to Amber Groen my set break was filled with beers and cheesecake.�
Although I may be the furthest thing from a VIP, the luxury suites at the Fox treated our party of
people very well.�

����������� Set two started off where the first set had left off.� The combination of Tube Top
Wobble and First Tube kept the funk hot and spicy.� If a stranger to Trey^�s music had been in
attendance at the Fox, First Tube would have been their first opportunity to see who the ^�star^�
of the show really was.� Trey^�s guitar work was fabulous, and the jam ragged on for a solid
twenty minutes.� This First Tube was very intense, and you could feel the vibrations in the floor
from all the dancing and shaking that was going on in the crowd.

����������� After the raging Tubes, Trey began his inter-set acoustic cool down.� Ray Dawn Balloon
and Discern allowed the pumpin^� crowd a chance to catch their breath before the groove came
screaming back in the form of Sand.� Trey^�s guitar work once again took center stage during the
show closing Sand.� Firey and intense is the best way to describe the Fox version of Sand.� Trey
was knee deep in the groove and his playing made the entire theatre erupt with appreciation.�

����������� The encore was very representative of the entire concert.� The beautifully melodic At
The Gazebo was like a good night kiss, and Sultans of Swing was one more shot of rock for Detroit
Rock City.� Sultans was the only cover of the night, and was a very appropriate way to rap up a
concert in the hometown of Motown, the motor city madman Ted Nugent, Bob Seager, and the
pyrotechniquely enhanced Kiss.� Like always Trey let his playing and song writing do all the
talking, and once again he left the audience tired, sweaty, and satisfied.�


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