Wednesday night (Nov. 18) on Conan, Phish frontman Trey Anastasio and his band appeared as the late night show's musical guests, performing one of their recent singles, "The Song," live for the studio audience.
The band's performance plays out as smooth as you would imagine, with Anastasio making it look easy on guitar, as always. The band is joined by their usual backup singers, and the track itself is certainly reminiscent of Phish's song "Farmhouse" and 2000 album of the same name. The wailing solos and guitar riffs are just as enticing as any live performance a fan could hope to witness.
"The Song" is one of 12 new songs released as the singer/songwriter's latest album Paper Wheels, which hit the streets on Oct. 30. The album, which was recorded at Anastasio's own farmhouse-turned-recording studio in Vermont called The Barn, was produced by Anastasio himself, alongside regular collaborator Bryce Goggin. To pair with the album's release, the band unleashed a trippy music video for lead single "Lever Boy" early last month.
Trey Anastasio recently performed with the Grateful Dead (in Jerry Garcia's place) as part of their Fare Thee Well shows to celebrate the band's 50th anniversary, which originally served as the classic outfit's (and Anastasio's mentors) final shows. The remaining members of The Dead have since continued to tour under the moniker Dead & Company with John Mayer in place of Anastasio.
Speaking on his time with the Dead to Billboard, Trey said, "I love to jam long. But even for me, the time would come when I'd think, 'This is too noodle-y. Let's play the next song.' I would do something, a lick that gently alluded to it. Then Phil [Lesh] would look over at me and put his hand up, like, 'What's your rush, dude?'"
Although TAB recently completed their fall tour in support of the new record, Anastasio will continue touring with Phish this winter, including four sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden.
