Hot off the Sphere shows in Las Vegas, Trey Anastasio brought Classic TAB to the Salt Shed Chicago. The Salt Shed Chicago is the hottest new venue in the city, Trey was clearly enjoying it as much as the City of Chicago loves it too. Right off the Chicago River on a misty May evening, the moisture turned to a sweaty fun time inside the indoor/outdoor venue. Those who had their poster tubes were happy they had them! Those that didn’t may need to flatten and dry their precious posters today.
The first set jumped right on the train to the Back on the Train set opener. The moment ended and the Moma Dance began. We washed that down with A Wave of Hope and then into Ocelot. It was 46 Days till the coal ran out but it wasn’t who it would be if it wasn’t who it is. The Wolfman’s Brother came down on us all. Ray Paczkowski’s keys were in full effect for this tune. The stripped-down sound showed off every nook and cranny of Classic TAB’s skills. If you can heal the symptoms but not affect the cause it's quite a bit like trying to heal the gunshot wound with gauze.
Sand closed the first set, giving us a nice break to enjoy the Salt Shed’s many bars and ample space to move around and get acquainted with other Classic TAB fans. We were in for quite a treat as the second set had 3 songs debuted live for the first time. Oblivion opened the second set as darkness, the one thing we all understand, kept us in the groove. Classic TAB delivered the funk with No Men in No Man’s Land. What’s Going Through Your Mind, or just, Your Mind, was the first live debut of the evening.
Poppy It and Demons blasted us with new tunes one right after another in the second set. Taking it all in, the crowd let loose when they followed that up with Everything’s Right… so just hold tight! Classic TAB’s spaceship took us all to outer space when they launched into First Tube. Phish played this at the Sphere, of course. Perhaps the Salt Shed doesn’t have bass boosts in the seats but a hometown throw-down is always comfortable, familiar, and funky.
The evening’s encore included Cayman Review and the ever-epic Story of the Ghost. I feel I’ve never told you, the story of Classic TAB. Now I have, and I hope you had as much fun as we did!
Check out more PHOTOS from the show
