Trey Anastasio Lets His Phingers Do the Talking

Anastasio in an October concert: The Phish guitarist got the crowd going at the 9:30 club Wednesday. (By Keith Shimada -- Associated Press)

Nobody's rock career has ever been crippled by a drug bust. So Trey Anastasio didn't let getting popped in New York for allegedly possessing somebody else's stash of prescription narcotics get in the way of hosting a jamboree at the 9:30 club Wednesday. (Though it had to be a buzz kill for many fans to find out Anastasio's real first name is Ernest.) For two sets over 3 1/2 hours, the onetime Phish guitarist and everybody listening to him were all smiles, and illicit substances didn't appear to be the major cause of the bliss explosion.

Lyrics don't mean a whole lot in jam-band land: Typical was "Undermind," a nonsensical stream of words that sound similar ("Undecided, undefined /Undisturbed, but undermind") and one of the few Phish tunes thrown into the set lists. Vocals were the centerpiece in but one tune, the hippie-hopeful number "Love Is Freedom." Largely, one gets the feeling Anastasio's verses are there just to give his fingers a rest between guitar runs.

Anastasio's 11-piece band was most comfortable when rendering New Orleans-style funky numbers such as "Simple Twist of Dave." The bandleader is the only guitarist in the combo, and to the uncommitted listener, Anastasio's solos, which are full of midrange bursts of notes without much string bending or vibrato, can suffer from sameness. But the club was packed with the committed, and the effect his guitar work had on the flock was undeniable and, from beginning to end, utterly euphoric. At 42, nothing sets Anastasio apart from the army of other jam-band noodlers so obviously as his ability to exude joy in being part of the jam. If he's playing, he's smiling.

The lovefest climaxed during the encore of "First Tube," which ended with Anastasio on cowbell and leading the entire band in a drum line off the stage and through the crowd. The fans fell in behind the players and followed them out the door and onto the street. That's the way to end a show.

-- Dave McKenna