DOG: Allman Brothers @ Beacon Theater 3/28/09

A couple Saturdays ago I made the trip up to New York City to see the Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theater on Broadway. It was the 40th Anniversary of the formation of the band and was actually the last in a series of 15 concert dates the band had played at the Beacon between March 9th and March 28th.

The Beacon gig this year paid tribute to the band's founder and slide guitarist extraordinaire, Duane Allman, and featured guest artists galore. Those who attended throughout were treated to surprises almost every night. Starting off with Johnny Winter on March 9, the fans enjoyed appearances by Buddy Guy, Bruce Hornsby, Sheryl Crowe, Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top), "Steady Rollin" Bob Margolin, Taj Mahal, Kid Rock, Ron Holloway (formerly of Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band), and Lenny White (formerly of Return To Forever). And then of course two nights with guest Eric Clapton.

The night I went they brought back former Allman Brothers piano player, Chuck Leavell, and also Phil Lesh and Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead.

Chuck Leavell arrives at the Beacon.

They opened with Little Martha while a Duane Allman memorial slide show flashed on the screen above. And then they burst into the Elmore James classic, Done Somebody Wrong, which set the stage for the evening. After Warren Haynes took some superb solos, Derek Trucks came on and just played some ripping slide guitar. Like no other version of that song I ever heard before. And I thought to myself "If Derek is this hot all night we're in for a treat!" ...he was.

Derek and his Uncle Butch Trucks jam.

Next came the Muddy Waters song, Trouble No More, in which we were treated to more slide wizardry by both Warren and Derek. After that, an extended jam on Rocking Horse and a very nice cover of Walk On Gilded Splinters. Gregg Allman then introduced Floyd Miles, an early mentor of the brothers, who sang an awesome version of the Albert King classic, Born Under A Bad Sign. Floyd stayed on stage for the introduction of Chuck Leavell who joined in for Stormy Monday. Next they did two songs from when Leavell was in the band. Come And Go Blues was followed by a teriffic version of Jessica to close out the first set and where Leavell just tore up the stage. Made me wish he was still with the Allmans instead of playing with the Rolling Stones.

The second set opened with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir joining the band for a couple of Grateful Dead numbers that ran for 45 minutes. Now at this point I got to tell you, I was bored to death with the incessant noodling on the guitar that goes on during Dead songs. When it was Derek's turn for a solo he tried to inject some life into the music but, I guess they don't call them the Dead for nothing! I went out bought some t-shirts, went to the bathroom, watched the cops haul some guys drunk ass out, and the damn Grateful Dead monotony was still going on. Although it was nice to see Lesh and Weir, I didn't pay to hear or see the Dead. I wanted to see the Allman Brothers.

Finally at 11:53 the Brothers came out by themselves again and woke everybody up with a turbo-charged version of Black Hearted Woman. Followed by the shortest version of Mountain Jam I ever heard although it still must've clocked in at around 15:00.

It was after 12:30 when the encore number, Blind Willie McTell's Statesboro Blues blazed through the airwaves. This has been a classic Allman Brother's tune since the inception of the band. And Duane Allman was known for some biting slide solos in this number. But Warren Haynes played the Duane solos almost as precisely as it sounds on the Live at the Fillmore album recorded in 1971. But when it came to the parts where Dicky Betts would have played on those Fillmore recordings, Derek Trucks just took over and blew the roof off the place, turning the song into somewhat of a jam. If there was any doubt of Derek channeling the spirit of Duane on this night, it was removed here. Derek did indeed take the music to the next level. And left his mark forever. Duane would have approved.

The Allmans finish their 2009 Beacon run with Robert Johnson overlooking.