The Allman Brothers Band, Beacon Theatre, NYC, 3-18-02 and 3-19-02Jul 12 '02 (Updated Nov 17 '02) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line After 33 years, The Allman Brothers wow the crowd with variety and musicianship like no other band. Since I saw the band both Monday and Tuesday night I'll review these shows together. The Beacon Theatre on Broadway in New York is a great place to see a show. Looks like it was built in the 30's, great medieval art deco , excellent sight lines, great sound. Full floor seating area and a much smaller balcony above. Seats about 3,000 and, as expected, the audience was a mixture of young and old. About ten rows in front of me was a group of six young girls, none of whom could have been more than seventeen. The Allman Brothers Band's sound has changed immensely. The first thing a long time fan like myself notices is that the volume is way down from what it has been for many years. In a recent Gregg Allman interview in "Hittin' the Note", the interviewer commented on the reduced volume, and Allman responded, "yeah, finally, after 30 years", an obvious dig at Dickey Betts. So an Allman Brothers band show is a much different experience now. Besides the lower volume, Dickey's signature sound is of course missing: The lilting, beautiful western swing of his guitar lines, the countrified vocals of "Ramblin' Man" or "Blue Sky". Dickey, your influence was unmistakable, your writing classic. But don't be fooled. The decreased volume takes some getting used to. The band members seem to be saying, 'look, we don't need to blow you away with testosterone-laced volume, just listen.' Yeah, listen, and you will be rewarded immensely. Warren Haynes' influence takes up a lot of the slack. They are working some of his songs into the set, and he gets lead vocals on quite a few tunes. And yeah, besides being a monster guitar virtuoso, the cat can flat out sing! He may not be the writer that Dickey was, but who is? The band played two sets both nights, taking about a half hour break in between. It's an Allmans tradition to give the audience at least 2-1/2 hours of music and they were true to form, clocking in at 2 hours 30 minutes on Monday and 2 hours 40 minutes Tuesday. I didn't bother to jot down set lists, but Tuesday night to me was a stronger show. The band started with a trio of singles with Gregg on vocals: "Ain't Wastin' Time No More", "Statesboro Blues", and "Stand Back". The first night included about four songs from the new album which they are about halfway through recording, the second night only one or two of those. It's hard to judge a new song upon hearing it for the first time, but both nights the band really got into gear late in the first set with one of the new tunes called "Woman Across The River". 'Woman' is a foot stomping, guitar slinging, blues/rock burner featuring Haynes on lead vocals. It was here that the crowd got it's first taste of what I'm sure many, including myself, came to hear: Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks trading leads in a bit of an old fashion guitar duel which put us into a rapturous state. But these are rare musicians indeed, and the band never came close to letting guitar histrionics become the purpose. Great music is the point.......just listen. If anyone can find a band with two guitarists as talented as Haynes/Trucks I would like to hear them real soon, and you will probably have an argument on your hands. Warren Haynes is a master and his deft Les Paul excursions often left the crowd in a daze. Watching Derek Trucks play, you feel like you are witnessing genius. Here is a guy whose guitar has been attached at the hip since he was about six years old, who has never and will never know any other occupation, who was fronting his own band with adults when he was twelve, who routinely and effortlessly picks with all five fingers, who at age twenty-three is one of the world's great guitar players. Interesting that both Haynes and Trucks joined the band as slide guitar masters; they avoid getting in each other's way by never playing slide at the same time, one is always finger picking. The way these two axe geniuses blend together is awe-inspiring, and worth the price of admission to any Allmans show. Haynes, now in his early 40's, is the much more experienced of the two and the one the band members key off of. With Dickey out of the way, Gregg Allman's presence is felt more than ever. With the volume down, Gregg's organ work is much more evident, and even before the volume was reduced, I thought his talent as an organist was vastly overlooked. Gregg is the consummate musician in that he plays to make the song better, never for his own glory. The Allmans have always been a guitar band, but take away Gregg's rich, intricate chording on the organ and the band's sound would be changed much for the worse. Gregg's singing continues to be spectacular as it has ever since he embraced sobriety five or six years ago. He got to showcase his soul side both nights, as they brought out the three piece Gregg Allman and Friends horn section while Gregg tore it up on the sixties soul number, "Turn Me Loose". Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long" followed with Haynes displaying his magnificent vocal range and power. The Allman Brothers do a short soul music passage? I noticed much of the crowd silent and curious, but it was great, and you get the feeling Dickey would never have allowed it to happen. The band continued later in the soul vein both nights, horns intact, featuring Gregg on vocals again for the always tender "Please Call Home" from Idylewild South. The horns hung around both nights for "Southbound", and the tune really got rolling towards the end with the brass incorporated into the wailing duel guitar lines. Another highlight from the second night was the burning blues rocker, "Good Clean Fun". I always love to hear Gregg belt this one out, as he basically tells the woman, 'Yeah, I am full of unbridled lust, I am up front and honest about it, now take it or leave it.' Let's not forget Oteil Burbridge, the band's bassist for the last five years. Renowned jazz bassist Victor Whooten of Bela Fleck and The Flecktones said he wished he could play like Oteil......what else needs to be said? Oteil, while never getting any headlines, has turned this into a much funkier band with a complex jazz footing. Add to that an incredibly disciplined three piece percussion section, and, as always, you never get bored over the course of a 2-1/2 hour Allmans show, there is always something to listen to. It has always been an Allmans concert wonder that they will morph into a straight ahead jazz band, and they did not dissapoint here, both nights performing an extremely complex new composition which stretched for about 15 minutes. Kind of like, 'Dickey is gone, but look folks, we still have some new jazz licks up our sleeve.' Other instrumental highlights were "Mountain Jam" the first night, with Trucks reaching new heights on slide, and "Dreams" the second night, as Haynes and Trucks traded jazzy slide solos high up on the fretboard. My only complaint here is that the most beautiful two minute passage from the "Eat a Peach" version of Mountain Jam was left out. I mentioned what the band was missing with Dickey gone; let me mention then how the band has improved in his absence. The set list is so completely unpredictable and varied now, you stand there (who sits at The Beacon?) and wonder what they will do next, a great old single from the Allmans library, a breathtaking long instrumental, a soul number, or a new and different Allman, Haynes or Allman/Haynes composition. Show me another band with a three piece percussion section which can swing as tightly as this one. Show me another band fronted by four virtuosos (Gregg, Derek, Warren and Oteil) all of whom front their own bands on the side. Show me another band which includes arguably the greatest R&B/Soul/Blues/Jazz singer/organist ever to grace a stage? I may be biased, but let me say that this is still the greatest band in the world and The Beacon Theatre run on Broadway may become an annual spring tradition for me.  |
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