Trey

It had been a long time coming because I got tickets back during the pre-sale. Thankfully. I don’t think it was possible to get tickets during the public sale because they went too fast. Although in front of the venue before the show there were tons of tickets for sale. And it was a brand new venue: The Fillmore Silver Spring. I think I’ve been in Silver Spring less than five times.

Teri and I met up in Silver Spring before the show. Thankfully it wasn’t raining. Being right on the metro was convenient. We passed Ray’s The Classic’s on the way. They made us empty our pockets and pull out our pocket lining to get inside the venue. Once in we were able to get a beer and a decent spot for the first set. Their beer selection was pretty bad. But I was surprised how easy it was to get a beer and a decent spot up front at a sold out show. It turns out we were lucky. It got packed as the show got on and I heard Primus a couple weeks before was packed.

We got all settled right before 8:00 and the band came on shortly after. The bass player was sitting down and I assumed he had his bass sitting on his chair or leg because it didn’t seem to move until I realized it was on a stand. Teri said that was cheating. The keyboard player seemed to fit in with the same old school session player theme and the drummer wasn’t far off. They were all very good. Trey also had a horn section which I always enjoy. There was a guy playing sax, a redheaded female trombone player, and a diva trumpet player who sang. The trumpet player tried to do some leading of the horn section and band but I noticed her mess up numerous times on the same song. She would try to signal when an upcoming change was and got it wrong about four times. After the song Trey came over and chatted with her while smiling. Later she did some vocals and belted out Black Dog. Even doing some back and forth with Trey during the solo.

During the second set we hung out upstairs for awhile. Downstairs was too packed after we waited forever at the upstairs bar. After waiting for awhile the hot female bartender who can’t tend a bar told me they were out of the beer I requested. I politely informed her that the other keg 10 feet away was still flowing strong. She said she couldn’t serve me from that keg. My mouth opened and I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know how to respond. The keg was right there and the one other bartender was not using it. I eventually said something. “We are trying to be efficient.” she replied. I couldn’t believe it. I had just stood there for about 10 minutes waiting my turn to be served. I looked over at the other line and assumed it would be at least another 10 minutes to get through that. So I complained again. Teri in the mean time was inching her way closer to being served by the other bartender. This allowed me to continue to harass the incompetent server on my side of the bar. If they had one other acceptable beer I might have had another option. She also had the nerve to tell me I was standing in “no man’s land” while waiting to be served around a huge bar that was surrounded with people doing the same thing. She seem a little overwhelmed and the bar wasn’t as busy as it could have been. We did not revisit that bar.

We found a decent spot in the balcony that was directly to the side of the stage. I was very tempted to sneak back stage. The girl watching the walkway was paying lots of attention to the band and we were almost standing directly behind her in a way that would have allowed us to just slip through. But after hanging out in the balcony for half the set it opened up downstairs. We headed down and were able to move in relatively close to the stage. The second set rocked out just like the first. It was cool to get so close to Trey and the band. It reminded me of the mid-90’s when Phish played smaller venues.

The metro ride is only a minute or two longer than the trip to the 9:30 Club. Another great venue I don’t have to drive to which is excellent. It felt like I hadn’t been to a concert in awhile. It was a great show. And we have another tomorrow night.


Set One:
    In the Wee Wee Hours
    Gotta Jibboo
    Alive Again
    The Devil Went Down to Georgia
    Money, Love and Change
    Burn That Bridge
    Burlap Sack and Pumps
    Push On 'Til the Day
    Alaska
    Tuesday
    Black Dog

Set Two:
    Sand
    Valentine
    Drifting
    Simple Twist Up Dave
    Liquid Time
    Pigtail
    Mr. Completely
    Ether Sunday
    Magilla
    Night Speaks to a Woman
    First Tube

Encore:
    Clint Eastwood
    Heavy Things
    Sultans of Swing