Trey Anastasio Band
The Ogden Theatre
Denver, CO
March 1

Whenever I think of Phish singer/guitarist/composer Trey Anastasio’s most powerful solo work, my mind always turns to “orchestral funk” – the term Anthony Keidis used to describe the Talking Heads’ large-band era (with Adrian Belew on searing lead guitar) when inducting the art-rock legends into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Trey Anastasio Band (or TAB), reunited recently after several years of hit-or-miss mainstream rock experiments by Anastasio (who seemed to be craving the commercial success of his occasional collaborator Dave Matthews), hits Stop Making Sense-worthy heights by melding a high-energy horn section (which now features two female singers) driving bass and drums, swirling keyboards and Anastasio’s trademark Santana-inspired guitar improvisations.

And it was exactly that danceable, Santana-meets-Talking Heads “orchestral funk” (with a touch of complex Frank Zappa weirdness) that electrified the Ogden Theatre in Denver last night. The first of two sold out shows at the Ogden, Tuesday’s three-hour-plus performance by Anastasio and his six-piece band (down a few horns from TAB’s celebrated early 00’s run) featured an introductory acoustic set full of warmly welcomed Phish tunes. The jamband hero showed he’s equally adept at big-time rock solos and laying a mean capo. Crowd favorites such as “Theme from the Bottom,” “Wolfman’s Brother” and “Farmhouse” were abbreviated and stripped down so a smiling Anastasio could strum relatively simple chords and skip bridges and tackle lead vocal duties while the joyful audience sang the harmonies and call-and-response parts usually handled by his Phish brethren.

Anastasio’s version of “Theme from the Bottom” removed the ominous Bartok edge that makes that song special, but “Backwards Down the Numberline” and “Gumbo” provided the Denver crowd with chances to contribute levity and tenderness by singing intermittently odd and sweet lyrics so loud Anastasio could step away from the mic and grin.

“Gumbo” was included in a series of chatty moments Anastasio called, “VH1 Storytellers time,” in which he red-haired Vermont musician hilariously detailed secretly stealing irreverent passages from Phish drummer Jon Fishman’s journals when they lived together in the mid-‘80s in Winooski, VT. “Tube” (with its lines about pregnant hens and rubber bottles) and “Gumbo” ( “the sacrifice jars made bubbles / and spittle is everywhere” ) provided not only a window into what Anastasio called “what it looks like inside the mind of Jon Fishman” but also a clue as to why so many music lovers can’t get past Phish’s often silly lyrics, sadly missing out on the quartet’s sometimes breathtaking compositions and group improvisations.

Whatever your take on Phish, one has to laugh at Anastasio’s explanation of Fishman’s inspiration around the time he wrote “Tube” and “Gumbo” : “He was into wheatgrass at the time. I came home and he was giving himself a wheatgrass enema.”

Believe it or not, some Phish songs – with the help of the group’s lyricist and friend Tom Marshall – feature flashes of stunning poetry, like Tuesday night gem “Strange Design.” However, newer (near adult-contemporary) Phish tunes played at the Ogden, such as “Joy” ( “You were the song that my soul understood…when we were young we thought life was a game” ) and “Let Me Lie” (in which the protagonist takes his shirt off while riding a bike) were somewhat reminiscent of Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan imitating Air Supply on Saturday Night Live. One fan up front even yelled out, “This song sucks!” before a sentimental new Anastasio number. Still, the gradual emergence of his talented band squelched the audible complaints from the picky Denver audience.

Gladly, in TAB’s electric (and LOUD) second set, nostalgia and corniness were mostly put to rest with blazing renditions of original Latin-tinged prog-rock tunes like “Last Tube” and “Burlap Sack and Pumps” ; meandering mid-tempo Phish titles; and a slew of impressively chosen covers. The big, bluesy voice of trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick drew numerous hoots from the Denver audience during “Night Speaks to a Woman” and “Let Me Lie,” and her confident rapping on “Clint Eastwood” (yes, the Gorillaz hit) had the Ogden bumping.

Like Phish, TAB pulled out unexpected and exciting takes on classic rock favorites and contemporary hits. Whereas Phish wows packed arenas by nailing challenging fare like Frank Zappa’s “Peaches en Regalia” and Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein,” TAB surprised the Denver crowd last night with the mother of all zany-but-daunting covers: Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” complete with Anastasio going all Steve Vai during Satan’s solos.

It’s moments like that, and the simple, hypnotic rhythms of bassist Tony Markellis and drummer Russ Lawton – who is Steve Gadd to Fishman’s Terry Bozzio – which truly make Anastasio concerts special. That and the wheatgrass enema humor.