Going to see TAB in Pittsburgh was an easy decision. I only live 2.5 hours away, and I love visiting the Burgh. The fact I was seeing TAB made it even more exciting because this was my first show and listening to Trey have one of the best summers of his life made the anticipation even greater! However, the trip was rife with set backs and bad omens from the start. Me and my girlfriend set out for Pittsburgh on Tuesday after opting out of TAB in Columbus and arrived in the city with enough time for some exploring and dinner. We went to this nice restaurant somewhere south side (can’t recall but it was off of E. Carson st.). And finished up around 10 pm when I nonchalantly asked if she remembered her vaccine card, to which she gets a very serious look in her eyes almost as if to scream it had been left back in Cleveland. Well, that was a bummer, but I checked some clinic websites to see about getting a test done and almost every single site said they required a referral from a GP first. So, after much deliberation we said “fuck it.” At 10 pm, we headed back to Cleveland to pick it up. We got into town around 12:30 am when I opened up Twitter and saw a tweet from Trey about the show that had taken place just an hour before and how it was Trey solo acoustic after Russ tested positive for Covid. After the news, paired with Jennifer’s recent positive test, this whole trip was starting to feel very cursed, but Trey was still going on, so I figured I’d go on with him. I mean, where can Trey find a drummer to fill in last minute? Oh well, it’ll still be a fun show and I love Trey banter. We crashed in Cleveland and set out for PITT in the next morning.

Cue Jon Fishman; the one and only musician for which Phish gets its namesake. I imagine Jon as The Wolf from Pulp Fiction. Fish: “You have a missing drummer and you need someone to fill in starting at Pittsburgh? That’s 8 hours away. I’ll be there in 5” (idk where Fish is coming from lol).

Reading the news that 1/2 the members of Phish would be performing made me even more excited for TAB. Even though it started rocky, everything worked out in the end.

Now for the show: holy shit (but said like “HOLYYYYY SHIIIIIITTTTTT”).

That’s the review. I literally can’t even put into words what happened last night. The best analogy I have is that TAB in Pittsburgh tonight felt like what I imagine Jam Night to be like. Even better that we got good spots near the rail where we could see Trey clearly in good spirits and having the time of his life. He was very chatty with some people directly in front of him who helped him with lyrics to Ocelot and Jibboo. I don’t know why, but seeing Trey interact with them made me so happy! They were all living their best lives. Trey pointed at one and said “thank you” after they sang the verse he messed up. All in good fun, and of course the music kept going all night.

So yeah, I’m still feeling that after glow hard after TAB. What made the whole experience even better was the fact the venue was so small and intimate. This was my after party from Phish tour. This is exactly what I felt like after Deer Creek N1.

After everything that happened in 2020, this year is cracking up to be one for the books and witnessing it has been beyond special. This year, the blinders are off yet they’re still innately focused and they’re building to something special this fall. I don’t know what, but I know it will be great.

Thank you TAB! Thank you Jon Fishman! Happy birthday Trey! Much love from Ohio. Thank you for an amazing first TAB show; I’ll definitely be back.