[Courtesy of Josh Martin, user @jmart. -Ed.]

How to approach the Trey Anastasio Band's second (and tour closing) show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta?

1. Consider this exchange with a fellow serious phish head a few weeks before the occasion: Me: "So I scored some tickets to go see Trey band at the Tabernacle down in Atlanta in a few weeks." Friend: "Well, there's nothing in that sentence I like."

Really? Seems kind of harsh. I mean, Atlanta isn't my favorite city either [note: I have revised that opinion based on this trip], but the Tabernacle is VERY cool, and Trey band has some good stuff going for it, right? Most importantly a guitarist named Trey, whom you've probably dreamed of meeting several dozen times and have probably seen in concert many more times than that. BUT ALSO, nice vocal harmonies, dense percussion, and propulsive rhythm and horn sections that power new songs and substantively change the sound of familiar songs. Is this a good thing? I'm not sure. I guess the listener gets to decide that, but I would prefer to think that change is a good thing, especially with something as familiar to all of us as large swaths of the Phish catalog.

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