UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL<

Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 14:58:24 -0500
From: Andrew Katz akatz75@earthlink.net
Subject: REVIEW UIC


Wow.  Holy Shit.  Sick.  

Whoever saw last summers tour and decided to pass on this one are making a BIG mistake.  Ive never
heard any music like this in my entire life.  Its obvious Trey loves UIC. 

The band was extremely tight, and Trey was much more prevalent than last year.  He composed,
directed, led, followed, and laid down licks I havent heard from him in several years.  It was
such a joy to hear them all play together.  Jennifer is very, very talented as well (in case you
didnt know that already), but she definitely shined last night, soloing with Trey at certain
points in the show. 

The 1st set was definitely to be respected, but the 2nd set something strange happened, and it was
very, very special.  Trey had his way, and then some.  I really only remember the highlights,
which includes the opener Last Tube which lasted at least a ½ hour.  The Mr. Completely (which is
a song I dont really care for) was out of this universe.  This song went into forbidden
territories and unknown realms of darkness, then found its way back to the beautiful rainbows and
waterfalls, where it belongs.  I have a  completely new respect for this song.  Trey did some
phenomenal conducting during this number as well.  There were points in the show where things
really slowed down and some of the jams seemed to be going nowhere, it was as if they were just
grooving through time, carving their way into the future, but then they would take off like a
fricking NASA Space Shuttle, full throttle.  Then came some song about the Moss Growing or
something, I think it freaked everyone out. 

Trey and the band definitely had their fun with their adoring UIC audience.  But each time one of
the grooves came to its low point, Trey would begin his hand signals, and within a few minutes
time, they had that venue rockin and grinding until we couldnt take any more.  And then, guess
what..they kept on going, and going, and rocking, and funking, and going and going.  Im not
exaggerating here either, it was some of the sickest, most intense music and noise I have ever
heard.  All the practice and time they put into rehearsing has totally paid off.  The band is
insane. 

CK was hot as hell, we cant forget about him, he is a mastermind and has his way of integrating
sound and light into one complete entity, absolutely amazing.  Kudos CK. 

Now, the goods:  The band comes back for the encore, which took a good 8 or 9 minutes (longer than
normal).  They all walked onto the stage, and Trey immediately says hes going to sit down and do a
number for us first, solo.  Ok; cool, Ive seen it before and was looking forward to what he had in
store.  Little did I know he was going to create an energy level in that Pavillion that I have not
witnessed from a single person, ever.  So, its Trey, just Trey, sitting there with his acoustic
guitar, in front of thousands and thousands of people, tuning up; the crowd is silenced.  Then, he
breaks into Chalkdust.  Now, this is not one of my personal favorites, heard it a million times,
BUT, to see and hear it in this context was very, very strange.  It brought a new light into
everyones eyes, and pretty much made everyone smile in complete awe and enjoyment.  It was very
cool.  He jammed the entire song, then, all of a sudden, I hear it .DA DA &DA DA
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilsoooooon.  Wow.  Very cool shit.  I know in my mind I was getting a little
upset b/c he was totally teasing us, and you could tell he wanted it, he loved it, he loved
playing those songs last night.  Then, finally, the band comes back and they bust into Alive
Again.  Ok, Ill take it, cool song.  But then, the horn section left stage, as they had several
times throughout the evening, and all of sudden Trey starts throwing in Stash licks, I picked it
up right away, by about the 3rd one, everyone else had caught on and the began.  I swear to god
for a minute I thought I was hearing Phish, it was so tight, and it was Trey playing it, it was so
real and so amazing I wanted that to keep going on forever.  It didnt.  And the show ended.  I
could barely walk when I left that place.  The band gives you some jam, some more jams, some funk,
some more funk, and then some more jams and more funks!  Honestly, be careful, dont bite off more
than you can chew, b/c Trey and his band will be sure to fill you up and then some. 

Next up Deer Creek.  Oh boy.  Strap on your seat belts, again. J 

-AKatz

Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2002 09:48:15 -0500 (CDT)
From: Kevin Stephens KevinStephens@webtv.net
Subject: TREY 6/6 UIC Pavllion Review

It's now Saturday morning, two days after the show.  My ears are still
ringing, my feet are still sore from 3+ hours of non-stop dancing, and I
still got that big shit-eating grin on my face.

UIC - what a venue.  Located in my home town.  The site of my first
Phish show in June of 1994 (and oh what a show!).  3 night Phish run in
November of 1998 (Smoken').  Like I said, what a venue!

I won't get too wordy here.  I just want to let people know that they
are really missing out if they don't get their asses out to see these
Trey shows this year.  This band is as tight as a virgin with her legs
crossed.  I've seen shows on all of the Trey tours so far, and none have
come close to what I experienced last night.

The horn section was on fire, Trey was half conductor/ half mega
rock-star, and forget about that crazy nut Cyro Baptista.  

He jammed out all of the songs.  Mr Completely had to push the 40 minute
mark.  They were exploring territories that I didn't know existed, but I
am glad that I got a chance to visit them.  

...... and then there was the encore.  Is Trey jonesing to start playing
some phish again??  A full Chalkdust acoustic with Wilson (pointing to
himself) teases.  1 minute of Stash during Alive Again complete with
audience clapping.   I think that he is!

So I'll hopefully see you on Phish fall 2002 tour (could another UIC
show happen).  But until then, catch the coolest rock star out there.
For some odd reason, there are tickets still left.  

Stephs 

Date: Fri, 07 Jun 2002 17:15:39 -0500
From: William Hrdina whrdina@hotmail.com
Subject: REVIEW- Trey- UIC 6/6


Trey Anastasio-- June 6, 2002--  UIC Pavillion

I always love going to the UIC, it^Òs a good-sized place and I saw my first Phish show there in
November 1994. The show contained the first glow-stick war ever and a Thanksgiving Harpua,
needless to say the place has a special place in my heart.

There^Òs a great moment on the show Family Guy where Stewie (the baby with tyrannical tendencies)
is in a day care center and he plays a bunch of kids against one another. "Dance puppets dance!"
He yells at his hapless victims. This is exactly what Trey is yelling at his band, although the
hint of evil inherent in Stewie is entirely missing. Trey, in a manner we have never seen from
him (or anyone) before has total control of the band, often while simultaneously wailing on the
guitar. He^Òs James Brown, Count Basie, and the good ^Ñol Trey of old, all in one package. He
does it with hand gestures, facial expressions, and my favorite, the good old-fashioned fist
pump.

I^Òve often wondered how different Phish would have sounded if the Giant Country Horns would have
stayed with Phish instead of only doing a single tour. Well, after 11 years I finally have my
answer. I^Òve seen every Trey tour since 99 and NEVER has he come even close to the cohesion he
is exhibiting on this tour. He has absolute control over everyone, even when that control
exhibits itself in letting everyone do their own thing.

It^Òs also clear that Trey is getting antsy to return to Phish. There were four or five times
last night that Trey ditched the horns and played for ten or fifteen minutes with just the basic
Phish setup, guitar, keys, drums, (Plus an extra guy- the percussionist, Cyro Baptista really
does add quite a lot to the mix.) and bass. If these snippet moments are what we have waiting for
us when Phish returns, I cannot wait. There was a passion in the jamming that I didn^Òt realize
was missing from Phish until I heard it in Trey^Òs playing last night. The Last Tube reminded me
of the smoking Antelope they played at Deer Creek way back in ^Ñ97. I think the key is the
partial (not total) return of the character I lovingly call "Rock Star Trey." You know, the Trey
that is apparent when he^Òs making that poor guitar scream like a demon from hell. That Trey had
backed off for a while in favor of servicing the groove that he was creating. In fact, I would
argue that it was the Oysterhead experience that brought this particular incarnation back to life
and I for one am happy to see it. Now we can have both. Trey wails, and the super-funk groove
remains. If there is a heaven, this is the music that will be playing. (At least in my heaven.)
The fact that he played Chalkdust and teased both Wilson and Stash was just icing on the cake of
one of the bast performances I have ever seen.

My only complaint from last night would be the over-excited security. You would have thought that
we were attending the First Annual International Terrorist^Òs Convention. I got my balls grabbed
and the guy stuck his hands into my shoes. For Christ^Òs sake man, it^Òs a concert! I know we^Òre
supposed to be more security conscious and everything, but enough is enough!

I won^Òt get to see Trey again until Bonnaroo, but the performance there is as good as last
night^Òs I would pay $100 just to see Trey again. SEE ya^Òll there and have a good show.




Bill Hrdina
whrdina@hotmail.com
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
-Martin Luther King Jr.

Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 14:22:27 EDT
From: CassidyOne@aol.com
Subject: Review for Chicago

Chicago - UIC Pavilion is the only show I've seen on this tour -- only one I 
will see, but I've seen enough of Trey solo to know that as a performer and 
as a collaborator he just keeps growing and filling it all out.  In fact, 
last night I suddenly realized who he reminded me of: Ricky Ricardo the Cuban 
bandleader; he plays, he sings, he dances, he jokes ... he conducts a large 
group onstage into doing exactly what he wants them to do, and he makes it 
look slick.  

But forget Trey -- pardon the blasphemy.  What about Jennifer Hartswick?  She 
pulls double duty on horns (trumpet & tuba) and back-up vocals and the woman 
flat out WAILS!  Two songs from last night come to mind: Cayman Review & Mr. 
Completely when Jen showed she knew how to use her breath for more than just 
blowing wind into notes.  Her voice is an excellent harmony to Trey's and she 
has no qualms about making the back-up vocals entirely her own.  She sent 
shivers down my spine.  As the only female in the midst of a lot of guys, she 
certainly stands out ... as a consummate musician in the midst of a lot of 
other consummate musicians, she shines even brighter.  She put a wah-wah on 
her trumpet for God's sake!  She ain't no ordinary horn-blower.  I'm a 
serious Jennifer Hartswick fan and I would like to see more comment on her 
performance - we all know Trey is a god, let it go.  

My only other comment about last night's show which was quite good but what 
happened to ending the songs? concerns the lights.  Chris, or whoever is 
running them this time out, how the HELL do you get that stained glass 
effect??  It's been blowing my mind for 12 hours now.  Great show, wish 
there'd been one more night here.

debz

Date: Fri, 07 Jun 2002 12:06:32 -0500
From: Dan Conroe drconroe@hotmail.com
Subject: Trey Review 6/6/02 Chicago

Last night Trey threw one hell of a party in Chicago.  This show was all about boogying down and
having a good time.  It had it's moments of extreme intensity and others where things didn't
quite click but as a whole, this was a great time with Trey seeming to enjoy himself more than
anyone. 
 
I had been fortunate to catch a show on each of Trey's 3 previous solo outings and each oone
proved to be different than the last.  A lot has changed since Trey hit the road with just Russ
and Tony back in 1999.  The UIC Pavilion was a reasonable venue for this show.  Some legendary
shows have taken place here dating back to Phish's 3 day run there in 1998 and more recently, a
badass Panic show on Halloween and a couple SCI shows not more than two months ago.  The sound in
the venue leaves a lot to be desired but the lot scene outside always proves to be a good time. 
Inside, the floor and lower level seats were pretty much filled up but the balcony was nearly
empty.  I understand why people might have skipped this show based solely on the $35+ ticket
price.  Hey, Trey's got a big band to pay!  Those who did shell out the money set themselves up
to have their minds blown!  Let's get down to the show itself...
 
About 45 minutes after show time, Trey and his buddies take the stage.  Trey was grinning his
grin and pumping his fist right away.  They busted right into Push On 'Till the Day.  What
a perfect way to open the show!  The band wasted no time and tore it up right away.  This version
was well over 25 minutes and set the energy that lasted through this smoking first set.  By the
time this song ended, it was clear that Trey's shit eating grin was contagious and the crowd had
caught the disease.
 
Cayman Review was next.  This is a great booty shaker and it had me getting down from the start. 
I want to take a second to tell all those that haven't seen the band on this tour that the added
percussionist, Cyro Baptista adds SO much to an already large band.  He's an absolute madman with
a ton of toys.  He was all over the place throughout the show and is a lot of fun to watch. 
This Cayman Review was not as jammed out as the version played at Alpine Valley last summer but
it was still a pleasure to hear this tune.
 
Burlap Sack and Pumps followed and the funk continued STRONG for the third straight song.  Cyro
gave drummer Russ Lawton a little help on this one. 
 
Next, Trey gave us a moment to catch our breath with Flock of Words.  I enjoyed this one from my
seat and listened to some great melodic flute playing by Russell Remington. 
 
The energy was brought right back up with Money Love and Change.  I never fully appreciated this
tune until last night.  It was smoking!  The horns were sounding good all night but they got
their chance to shine during the jammed out version of this song.  Our star, Trey was raging on
his guitar throughout this set and he took it to a new level during this one.  Trey was dancing,
the horns were dancing.  Hell, everyone was dancing hard.  This one closed the set after only
four songs but left the crown feeling euphoric. 
 
Set II began with Trey taking the stage and immediately getting flashed by a pair of breasts up
front. He responded by showing all of us his nipples which I feel was only fair.  The crowd loved
it and Trey pretended to unzip his pants to show his red-headed stranger. Thankfully, he kept
that to himself but this was a classic Trey comical moment. 
 
Everyone put their privates away so the music could begin with the rager Last Tube.  I have seen
this one played at every Trey show I've been to and I love how this song has evolved from a
simple groove into a monster!  The jam was hot, long, and experimental.  The band never did find
their way back into Last Tube which happened a couple times during this set.  None the less, this
song can do no wrong.
 
Every Story Has a Stone came next and didn't quite do it for me.  I don't have much else to say
'bout it.
 
Trey picked up his acoustic for a short, beautiful Ray Dawn Balloon.
 
Mr. Completely hit us in the face next.  This one is guaranteed to be intense.  Trey conducted
the band in all sorts of directions on this one as they moved further away from the song and into
some hot horn solo's and Hendrix guitar licks.  The jam had it's ups and downs but Trey was
having fun which meant that I was too.  And they ended it there.  This set was not as strong as
the first and I couldn't help wanting more after Mr Completely. 
 
Then came the encore!  What a weird show.
 
Trey takes the stage with his acoustic and tells us he wants to play one song that he loves
before the band finished the job.  He tunes up and then busts right into... Chalkdust Torture! 
The crowd went nuts as this was the first time he has touched a Phish tune on this tour (First
Tube, Sand, Jiboo, excluded).  Who knew that an acoustic tune could get people moving like this
but after all, it was Chalkdust.  The Captain launched into the opening chords of Wilson which
threw the crowd into a frenzy.  As we all yelled "Wil-son", Trey pointed to himself.  If Trey is
Wilson, then Wilson is my kind of evil ruler!  This madness proved the obvious fact that the fans
are itching for Phish and I get the feeling that Trey is too.  There's no rush though... He
really is enjoying the opportunity to do something like lead a ten piece band.  The acousic Phish
madness reminded me of Trey's first tour when he played a full acoustic set.  That was the real
deal!
Alive Again ended the show with some power.  This is a great tune for a big band and I thoroughly
enjoyed it.  Trey threw some dirty Stash teases here in the got the crowd clapping like the days
of old.  Overall, this was a damn good time. I do wish that Trey played more covers with this
band as he did on previous solo tours.  He always picked the best tunes but his own songs have
really come together.  Trey was having more fun that I have seen him have in a long time.  This
man loves performing and he can get a crowd fired up and his band fired up.  Sorry to be so
long-winded in this review but the show is still fresh in my mind.  Go see Trey on this tour! 
See ya'll at Bonnaroo.  It doesn't get any better than that.  Shout out to Corey for
another blowout at the Pavilion and to Jess, Gabe, and Ill Will for what is about to come.  God
help us!

Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 13:14:59 -0500
From: bgrono1 bgrono1@uic.edu
Subject: UIC pavilion review

This really isn't a review, but more of a plug in general for Trey and his 
band.  Anyone who missed last nights show at UIC (it wasn't sold out) should 
be kicking themselves right now.  Trey is absolutely on fire, as is the rest 
of the band.  Trey was really playing with inspiration last night, and 
couldn't thank the crowd enough for all of the support.  He looks like he is 
in really good health too.  Very high energy, lots of jumping around the 
stage.  The horn section was phenominal with lots of dueling going on between 
Trey and individual members.  The new percussionist adds a new dimension of 
sound and comedy that is just great.  I am so happy I went to that show, and 
yes, i do think that Trey is beginning to get the Phish itch.  C'mon Chalkdust 
encore with a Wilson tease, plus Stash teases(with clapping) in Alive Again.  
I just wouldn't be able to describe in words, so trust me. Go see Trey!!!  
Last night was such an uplifting night.  Oh, the sound and lights were perfect 
too!  Hoping for a fall Phish tour.............

Bryan

Date: Fri, 07 Jun 2002 10:23:38 -0500
From: mike manning pigpen422@hotmail.com
Subject: this is my 6/6 REVIEW

dan,
summers comin' so i'll give a review =)

First off let me say that last night was excellent!!  Somewhere near 25 min. 
for a 1st set opener "push on till the day", sure, yeah right. the crowd was 
ready from the get go. The pavillion was fairly full, the floor and lower 
level nicely packed and a semi-full 2nd level...high energy all around.  The 
rest of the first set carried on very nice ending w/ trey stating that "they 
were just warming up"!  The burlap is quite the tune these days as it seems 
to sound quite different each time I hear it.  The conducting is awesome, 
trey can hold a note on the guitar and instruct the band members as to where 
they are going next, sick i say sick!!! Anyways there were so many different 
sounding grooves last night it was ridiculous. Very very fast paced grooves, 
gruvs that slowly slowed down to nothing and then WHAM back into that gruv 
again. SICK I SAY SICK.
2nd set...Last Tube!!! to open this one baby just gettin warmed up. A nice 
ray dawn balloon and an extremely well played and quite long Mr. Completely 
that completely blew me away. all in all the 2nd set was even more ragin' 
than the 1st as is expected most of the time. =)
Encore? did somebody say Encore?

I am sure that there is plenty more of this stuff to come as the tour 
progresses but let me just say Trey seemed to be havin a good ol' time last 
night. Maybe it was because he was laughing while playing CHALKDUST TOURCHER 
w/ WILSON teases???? did that happen? oh yeah baby that SH!T was da' BOMB 
fo' sho' though.  Just trey and his acoustic and madd fans lovin' every 
second of it. DADA DADA WILSON, DADA DADA STASH??? what he teased stash in 
the middle of Alive Again. yes, yes he did. well i hope to see you all at 
creek and boogie down. yes summer is comin' and that's my review.   11-17 
peace out!

madd dawg-


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