Who: Trey Anastasio and the National Symphony Orchestra
When: May 22, 2013
Where: The Kennedy Center Concert Hall/ Washington, DC
With: Tim
Of Note: 'Phish: The Musical' plus people who can't behave in public
.JPG)
Every once in a while, a work trip coincides with something awesome going on in the destination city. This was one of those times. One of my co-workers saw that Trey was playing with the National Symphony Orchestra our first night in DC and asked if I wanted to go. Of course, I did, and holy crap it was amazing.
Let's break down what made this night so awesome:
1. The Kennedy Center is beautiful. I mean, you can essentially feel the opulence seep into your pores when you walk in the place. The acoustics in the concert hall are among the best in the nation, I believe. It was a gorgeous setting.
2. The cognitive dissonance of the audience and the surroundings. Obviously, there were some Pops subscribers and buttoned up types, but there were also a lot of "traditional" Phish fans there. The majority of them were trying so hard to be on their best behavior, with collared shirts and the occasional vest. A guy a couple rows in front of us had an epic bun. It was nice to see all the effort made to be respectful of the venue.
3. The ability to clutch my pearls at the decorum infractions committed. That said, some people did not understand where they were. Most noticeably, there was a girl seated in the third row who decided that the middle of the first set was a good time for a selfie with Trey in the background and walked herself up to the stage to get it - going so far as to try to climb up on the stage. She also danced around the aisle during one song - when the entire rest of the audience was sitting enjoying the show. There was a video this - but sadly, it's been taken down. The whole thing mad me want to sit her down and say, "Sweetie pie, did nobody teach you how to behave in public? Have as much fun as you want but don't impede other people's fun. Right now, you're impeding other people's fun because we all have to be second-hand embarrassed for you." In an even classier move, there were guys selling nitrous balloons outside of the Kennedy Center on the way out.
BUT, most importantly, 5. The Music. Holy crap holy crap holy crap. The music was incredible. Like, here's the thing - the National Symphony Orchestra is among the most talented musicians in the country. Trey Anastasio is a once in a generation prodigy. The combination of the two was potent.
Here's the other thing - I love hearing songs reimagined in other ways. Give me an acoustic troubadour doing a stripped down pop song or an a capella arrangement of a club banger or all those early 2000s ska-ish covers of 80s hits any day. Covers are perfect because you're getting both old & new, familiar & unexpected, comfortable & stimulating all at the same time. The orchestral reimagining of these songs was inspired. I commented when we were leaving that the evening felt a bit like having listed to the original cast recording of "Phish: The Musical". And it was glorious.
The show opened with 'First Tube', a song that always rhythmically confounds me. Is it poly-rhythms? Is it rapid time changes? Is it just dotted eighth/sixteenth triplets? I have no idea; I've never been able to figure it out but it is a song that is almost impossible to resolve what you're tapping your foot to. In this setting, it was even more driving than the Phish version - sounding concurrently light and sinister.
I was super impressed with the lead flute - he matched Trey note for note on many of the more complex guitar riffs throughout the show, adding some texture to those lines. I can't imagine it's easy to keep up with Trey or appease a crowd who is so familiar with the melody, but he was awesome.
There also can't be enough good things said about the concert violinist who was obviously ridiculously talented without seeming stuffy. There were a few beautiful passages where it looked like she & Trey were "trading fours", just in a much more structured way.
The first set closed with 'Stash' and although I could have done without the crowd singing along 'maybe so, maybe not' (I know, I'm old and crotchety - but it was covering up the instrumentation!), it was fun, energetic and provided the brass section a nice chance to show off.
Trey dedicated a second set song to his song-writing partner Tom, who was in attendance and what he played - 'Brian & Robert' - took my breath away, and just about transported me to another time and place. Though this song appears on 'Story of the Ghost', I know it from the Trey & Tom collaboration 'Trampled by Lambs and Pecked by the Dove' - a release of all the rough cuts from the Farmhouse sessions. The repeated phrase 'This one is for you' is one of those lines of music that has penetrated my soul. I haven't thought about this song in so long but when it started, I felt 19 and hopeful and sentimental and so much less crotchety all at once. It was such a treat.
The encore was one of my favorites, and one that I really hoped would get the orchestral treatment - 'The Inlaw Josie Wales'. It was beautiful, all long string lines and lilting guitar melody.
Leaving, I felt like I had just seen something really special.
When: May 22, 2013
Where: The Kennedy Center Concert Hall/ Washington, DC
With: Tim
Of Note: 'Phish: The Musical' plus people who can't behave in public
.JPG)
Every once in a while, a work trip coincides with something awesome going on in the destination city. This was one of those times. One of my co-workers saw that Trey was playing with the National Symphony Orchestra our first night in DC and asked if I wanted to go. Of course, I did, and holy crap it was amazing.
Let's break down what made this night so awesome:
1. The Kennedy Center is beautiful. I mean, you can essentially feel the opulence seep into your pores when you walk in the place. The acoustics in the concert hall are among the best in the nation, I believe. It was a gorgeous setting.
2. The cognitive dissonance of the audience and the surroundings. Obviously, there were some Pops subscribers and buttoned up types, but there were also a lot of "traditional" Phish fans there. The majority of them were trying so hard to be on their best behavior, with collared shirts and the occasional vest. A guy a couple rows in front of us had an epic bun. It was nice to see all the effort made to be respectful of the venue.
3. The ability to clutch my pearls at the decorum infractions committed. That said, some people did not understand where they were. Most noticeably, there was a girl seated in the third row who decided that the middle of the first set was a good time for a selfie with Trey in the background and walked herself up to the stage to get it - going so far as to try to climb up on the stage. She also danced around the aisle during one song - when the entire rest of the audience was sitting enjoying the show. There was a video this - but sadly, it's been taken down. The whole thing mad me want to sit her down and say, "Sweetie pie, did nobody teach you how to behave in public? Have as much fun as you want but don't impede other people's fun. Right now, you're impeding other people's fun because we all have to be second-hand embarrassed for you." In an even classier move, there were guys selling nitrous balloons outside of the Kennedy Center on the way out.
BUT, most importantly, 5. The Music. Holy crap holy crap holy crap. The music was incredible. Like, here's the thing - the National Symphony Orchestra is among the most talented musicians in the country. Trey Anastasio is a once in a generation prodigy. The combination of the two was potent.
Here's the other thing - I love hearing songs reimagined in other ways. Give me an acoustic troubadour doing a stripped down pop song or an a capella arrangement of a club banger or all those early 2000s ska-ish covers of 80s hits any day. Covers are perfect because you're getting both old & new, familiar & unexpected, comfortable & stimulating all at the same time. The orchestral reimagining of these songs was inspired. I commented when we were leaving that the evening felt a bit like having listed to the original cast recording of "Phish: The Musical". And it was glorious.
The show opened with 'First Tube', a song that always rhythmically confounds me. Is it poly-rhythms? Is it rapid time changes? Is it just dotted eighth/sixteenth triplets? I have no idea; I've never been able to figure it out but it is a song that is almost impossible to resolve what you're tapping your foot to. In this setting, it was even more driving than the Phish version - sounding concurrently light and sinister.
I was super impressed with the lead flute - he matched Trey note for note on many of the more complex guitar riffs throughout the show, adding some texture to those lines. I can't imagine it's easy to keep up with Trey or appease a crowd who is so familiar with the melody, but he was awesome.
There also can't be enough good things said about the concert violinist who was obviously ridiculously talented without seeming stuffy. There were a few beautiful passages where it looked like she & Trey were "trading fours", just in a much more structured way.
The first set closed with 'Stash' and although I could have done without the crowd singing along 'maybe so, maybe not' (I know, I'm old and crotchety - but it was covering up the instrumentation!), it was fun, energetic and provided the brass section a nice chance to show off.
Trey dedicated a second set song to his song-writing partner Tom, who was in attendance and what he played - 'Brian & Robert' - took my breath away, and just about transported me to another time and place. Though this song appears on 'Story of the Ghost', I know it from the Trey & Tom collaboration 'Trampled by Lambs and Pecked by the Dove' - a release of all the rough cuts from the Farmhouse sessions. The repeated phrase 'This one is for you' is one of those lines of music that has penetrated my soul. I haven't thought about this song in so long but when it started, I felt 19 and hopeful and sentimental and so much less crotchety all at once. It was such a treat.
The encore was one of my favorites, and one that I really hoped would get the orchestral treatment - 'The Inlaw Josie Wales'. It was beautiful, all long string lines and lilting guitar melody.
Leaving, I felt like I had just seen something really special.
Comments
Post a Comment