Photo by Charlie Timberlake

It’s been a notable year so far in Trey Anastasio’s musical life outside of Phish, starting with his stellar solo acoustic run in February and extending into the spring when he toured with his trio for the first time since 1999. But that decision didn’t come lightly, as Trey Anastasio Band keyboardist Ray “The Milkman” Paczkowski had a brain tumor removed in March that sidelined him, resulting in a new version of his long-running solo project that stood apart from any of his past outfits. Thankfully, by the time Anastasio’s brief three-show summer run arrived, Paczkowski has recovered and returned to the stage rather unexpectedly, making the three-piece a quartet.

On this warm summer Friday night in Central Park, the band dug into a number of Phish staples over the course of their two-set performance—an unexpected hallmark from their spring run—starting off with the heat-themed “Blaze On,” and moving quickly through newcomers “Everything’s Right,” “Miss You” and a few songs that TAB has shared with Phish since the ‘90s, “Heavy Things” and “Gotta Jibboo.” Anastasio’s trio is known for keeping things tight and the first set wasn’t an exception—there weren’t any songs that really saw extended jamming, except for the “Sand” set closer—bassist Tony Markellis locked into that familiar groove, allowing for Trey to let loose on the guitar for a few moments as the sun started to fade away into the dusk.

The second set picked off where the “Sand” finished—a funk-heavy “No Men in No Man’s Land” let the group immediately find a rhythm that opened up for Paczkowski to explore some riffs that Trey could play off of. A dark, but quick “Ghost” followed, which led to the night’s highlight: the old Phish favorite “Camel Walk,” sped up into a funky-pop version, which was a stark difference between the Trey Trio and Phish arrangements. Trey Anastasio Band favorite “Push on ‘Til the Day” closed the night out, with Anastasio grinning ear to ear, as he twirled around in circles during the song’s final moments.

Perhaps the night’s finest moment, though, came during the encores when Anastasio paused after a solo acoustic version of “Waste” to reflect on what playing Central Park meant to him. You see, when he was 14, he used to take the train in from New Jersey and walk through Times Square to go to guitar lessons at the southside of Central Park. And now, years later, he’s playing the same park, and it’s a mind-blowing affair. Little reflexive life nuggets like that are more common these days from the guitarist, especially when he’s on the stage by himself. He thanked his mom, who was in attendance, for letting him brave the city all alone—but also used the time to fess up to a moment of weakness during those productive trips: He got a fake ID. Moments later, the night closed with a raw and punchy “First Tube”—a confessional can always be an unexpected, dramatic source of energy.