10/21/19 Trey Anastasio @ Pablo Center at the Confluence - Eau Claire, WI

Back in October my mom and I drove to the Madison, WI area on a Monday morning.  I'd cleared my schedule for a few days.  It had been a few years since mom and I had gone on a roadtrip.  We stayed with our friends, The Behrs, in Middleton.  It was great to see Margaret and Fritz again.  Whitney joined us for lunch.   It was good to eat a nice meal before I made my way north to Eau Claire.   The portion from Middletown to the Wisconsin Dells was scenic.  The leaves were turning and the corn that remained unpicked was golden brown.  In November of 2000 I'd driven from Madison to St. Paul to see Widespread Panic.  This drive brought back memories of that day.  Wisconsin is one of my favorite states.  The agrarian/owl theme of the poster made me buy it despite having no more room for wall art.  It's the same artist who did the UIC 2011 poster.  I was able to find free parking.  It was rainy and dreary by the time I got to this new futuristic opera house, The Pablo Center at the Confluence.  They let us go back to our vehicles after buying the poster and tshirt.  The venue served coffee which I appreciated.  I dug the chill music before the show.  My seat was in the 5th row for this intimate acoustic evening with Trey Anastasio. 

This show was almost like going to a church service.  At this point these songs have become our hymnals.  I envision these acoustic shows being Trey's end game once Phish is done.  I really liked the song selection.  All of these Dreams and Sweet Dreams Melinda followed a story that Trey told about going to a Tool concert.  Twenty Years Later works for me with my first Phish show having been in 1999.  Wolfman's was extended a little.  Inlaw Josey Wales is Trey's best acoustic tune.  That was the only time during the tour that he played Fluffhead.  That was probably my highlight.  Ruby Waves drew a reaction from the crowd.  Presumably many in attendance were also at Alpine Valley this past summer.  Winterqueen, Till We Meet Again, Ghosts of the Forest, If I Could was a great stretch of tunes.  Sand was also jammed a little with the help of some loops.  Life Beyond the Dream was cool to hear stripped down.  Billy Breathes was great to hear though I'm greedy and would have liked Bliss >.  Strange Design included a story about having children.  Towers was a well executed Bon Iver cover.  Earlier in the night Trey had mentioned how Eau Claire reminded him of Burlington, VT.  I've been to both places and I'd have to agree they both have good vibes. Limb by Limb has always been a song I've liked from The Story of the Ghost album.  The final three songs got the crowd excited.  Wingsuit, The Lizards, More was a solid encore.  After the show I drove back to Middleton.  Seeing Trey acoustic is a different experience.  By the end of it I was ready to think about Phish in Pittsburgh. 

10/18/19 Spafford @ Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL

This was my only journey into the city of Chicago in 2019.  The shows I'm seeing this fall are all in venues that I've never visited before.  I had never been to Thalia Hall.  This newly renovated venue in the Pilsen neighborhood is located a bit south of the UIC Pavilion.  The southside of Chicago is the baddest part of town according to Jim Croce so I was a bit nervous but it turned out to be fine.  I found street parking about a block away.  I saw some familiar faces before the show. 


Spafford took the stage to Tom Sawyer by Rush on the PA system.  In the heart of America...   That was a song I was hoping for.  About 7 or 8 minutes into the jam they took it to a different turbo level.  This went on for about another 10 minutes.  The new instrumental Funkenseven followed that up.  Those Shoes was a cover that I wanted to hear.  They do a great job with that Eagles cover. They added improvisation to this as well. Eventually there was a segue into Electric Taco Stand.  It had been over an hour but they tacked on Be Strange to wrap up the set with its reggae/Jerry wah.  America and Those Shoes were huge. 


They allowed the crowd to go in/out during the setbreak.  The weather was still fairly warm for that time of the year.  Slip and Squander is probably their most accessible song.  They brought out a guest Jason Singer on saxophone for a cover they've played frequently this fall Gold Glittered Hat.  Next was an unexpected highlight.  They debuted this fall a new pairing Doghouse > Pt. II.  I was a tad disappointed with the choice of Whipping Post given they played that in Milwaukee back in May.  Dirtbath is a pretty badass tune.  That was my first time seeing it live.  Settled In and the Phishy The Reprise sent us off into the night.  They're still playing "You Can Call Me Al" on the PA after every show. 


After the show I hit horrible traffic on I-55.  There was an accident plus reduced lanes because of night time construction.  It took much longer than usual to get home.  I stopped at White Castle in Bowlingbrook.  This was my 6th time seeing Spafford.  This was a fun experience.  I'm glad I went.