Review: Trey w/ NY Philharmonic @ Carnegie Hall

Featured, Phish — By Benjamin Slayter on September 23, 2009 at 3:39 pm

My apologies to the readers of BTJ for not getting to this sooner. Today, I was prompted by @stringcheesemom who asked me, “What was it like to see Trey fulfill one of his dreams?”

That, my friends, is a great way to start this off.

New York City is one of my favorite places to visit, and my wife and I had never been to Carnegie Hall before. To say we were excited to go see this show was an understatement. Broke at the time, we called in favors and the in-laws bought our tickets for the show the day they were announced, and we ended up with two $50.00 nosebleeders. The next step was getting from Lansing, Michigan all the way to NYC without breaking the bank. With tickets booked on frequent flyer miles (thank you, conventions) we set off for the big city.

Taking the subway in NYC is the only way to travel, and popping up from underground onto the street in front of Carnegie, and seeing Trey’s cheesy mug plastered on the front billboards was interesting. We’d seen phish 4 times this summer, but this was something different indeed. There was no shakedown street. I checked around the corner to be sure – nope, no heady grilled cheese here. The crowd was a mix of young and old, polished and wook, suits, ties, and tie-dyes. Probably not what the staff at the hall was used to. An hour before show we wound up at the stage entrance, and I found myself nervous. As a photographer I’ve covered a wide range of talent from Dave Matthews to the Dead, but out of all my celebrity music crushes, I’d have to say Trey is the biggest. My gear had all been checked, double-checked. We approached the media credential people. Here was the moment. “Ben Slayter for Glide Magazine,” I said, nonchalantly.

As luck would have it, I wasn’t on the list. My contact had picked up his free tickets five minutes before that, and I had requested permissions 8 weeks previously. I fished my blackberry out of my pocket, pulled up emails from their media relations department, and somehow managed with a business card from my day job and a smile to convince their PR department that I was in fact, supposed to be there. Crisis averted. In walked Danny Clinch looking very calm, and I resisted the urge to go fanboi on him. There were two other photographers who checked in, one with the New York Times. Suddenly my D300 and Sigma 70-200 2.8 seemed unworthy as they unpacked lenses bigger than my head. This was awesome.

We received our credentials (basically a neon sticker attached to our shoulders) which enabled us to carry cameras into the hall, and we were escorted to the back of the main floor. They said something about blimping (noise-proofing) which I didn’t listen to, as the media documents they had sent said no photos during the performances, only at breaks. I watched closely as the NY Times photographer got out his Canon which was packaged like a jewel in a sound-proof housing. Yep. No shots for me. Now would have been the time to pull out a new cam with “Silent Mode”. I put the wide angle on and took some test shots. Carnegie Hall was every bit as beautiful as I had heard. The way the balconies extended forward, almost to the stage had me reminiscing about opera houses and my wife’s previous life as a development director in the arts.

The audience continued to filter in, and before long the house was filled. We were at showtime, and the crowd was abuzz with the noise of expectant fans. The strings came out onto the stage and were seated. Rounds of applause. The concert master, Sheryl Staples, did a final tuning. Trey walks out onto the stage, and the crowd goes wild. Seriously, the ushers even said that they’d never seen a crowd cheer and roar like they did that night.

First Tube.

The first notes of “First Tube” came out of the strings in the orchestra, and the crowd cheered. I’ve been to many a symphony orchestra performance; first time i’d ever seen that. All I could think of was, “Damn, what an awesome backup band.” Hearing your first phish song come out of violins, oboes, trombones and trumpets is a special treat. Honestly, it can’t be replicated on my stereo. Perhaps when i get a chance to buy the recording and play it on an audiophile’s setup… but I digress. Hearing the orchestra trade off phrases in First Tube reminded me of a jam-off, each measure of guitar echoed in dozens of strings, amplified again by the horns and brass, then right back into intricate guitar riffs we all know and love.

The Inlaw Josie Wales

A somber track, “The Inlaw Josie Wales” reminded me what I miss about seeing the symphony: Dynamic Range. Notes so low you can barely hear them whisper from the instruments, crescendos that became so loud that they tested the limits of the recording equipment. Now that’s classical music.

Brian and Robert

With a tremendous introduction by strings, an almost a-capella performance with acoustic guitar left me reflecting. This was after all a peformance in memory of Trey’s sister Kristine who had passed this spring.

If you’re just staring at your walls
observing echoing footfalls
from tenants wandering distant halls
(then) this one is for you

We could all imagine that the “One” he sang about was in fact this performance. At least I did.

Divided Sky

An orchestral introduction culminates in a lone voice singing in the auditorium, clear and present. Divided Sky blessed us with another classical arrangement that seemed natural. After listening to it a dozen times, I almost forget what a normal Divided Sky sounds like. This song featured separate movements (normal for classical, but almost unique to phish in rock music) and in the second carried somber notes through the air, each reflected and echoed by the orchestra. The sounds of the electric guitar, simple and clean, against the backdrop of the orchestra were again magical. Being backed up by a cello instead of an electric bass? Sorry Mike, but it just doesn’t compare. Like many phish tunes, what begins as a drifting, soaring melody builds intensity until a moment at the end is reached that the orchestra exuded pure energy, then sharply pulled back to remind us where we were.

Water in the Sky

I can’t help but marvel at the folksy nature of Water in the Sky. After the previous songs, I felt like I was at a Raffi Concert in the late 1970’s, and loved it. The simple, marching progression of the refrains are built with the addition of a snare being hit with brushes the second time through, then it melts into lovely harmonies among violins, violas, and cellos. By the time “Thunder” comes around, we’re hooked and have a shower-whistling song for life.

Pebbles and Marbles

If you would have blindfolded me, I would have said that this was arranged by Copland. I would call it “Phanfare for the Phishead”. A serious introduction fades into a flute solo, that carries us, (I felt like on horseback) into the fierce and strong horns. Large bells call out into the dark night, the movement building and overpowering the ability of the recording equipment to relate and process. Then Trey rips into it with his guitar, teasing us gently, mocking, probing, and darting into the melody, each solo repeated in by a section – horns here, strings there, dancing around us, whirling past. We finish in the echoes of bells and horns, and are quickly whisked away.

Guyete

The second movement of this piece was fully owned by the percussion. Guitar notes were replayed back via timpani, xylophone, and then carried by a solitary trumpet. By the time we’re reaching into the depths of this piece, we’re on a ship in a storm, tossed about by huge crashes of cymbals, trombones playing scales, and a full on assault of Guyete. The audience lost it about 8 minutes in, when it seemed Trey was almost teasing 2001.

Set Break – more to come….

Click image below for full slide show!

Photos by Ben Slayter.

Set 1: First Tube, The Inlaw Josie Wales, Brian and Robert, Divided Sky, Water In the Sky, Pebbles and Marbles, Guyute Orchestral

Set 2: Time Turns Elastic, Let Me Lie, You Enjoy Myself,

Encore: If I Could

Some great videos have showed up on YouTube.

Download torrent lossless flac files via bt.etree.org.

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Tags: Phish