The B List: Ten Shows to Sweeten Your Allman Brothers @ The Beacon Run

Theoretically, most any other gig happening in NYC in March could be potentially appealing to an ABB fan (you’re a music fan, brah, you have broad tastes, we get that). So, for the purposes of a neater, tidier B-list, we stuck to officially described ABB post-parties and the more obvious choices. In chronological order, Beacon sweeteners happening during the Beacon run (March 9-28):

1. Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band

Where and When: BB King’s Blues Club (Times Square), Friday, March 13 (midnight)

How Much: $15 ($10 with an ABB 3/13 stub)

What: Jaimoe’s a jazz and R&B guy at heart, so you’ll see a lot of that side of him in this heady ensemble. They play once in a while in southern New England (Jaimoe lives in Connecticut) and New York in the ABB off-season, and are a real treat for those who like the jazzier cadences of the ABB and soulful jazz/blues ensembles in general.

Potential For An ABB Sit-In: High, seeing as there’s already a Brother in the house.

2. Go There featuring Oteil Burbridge

Where and When: Sullivan Hall (West Village), Wednesday, March 18 (7 p.m. doors)

How Much: $12

What: Raleigh-bred guitar vet Scott Sawyer makes limber, bluesy, groovalicious music, and his first album with the Go There group (which features not only Oteil Bubridge but, at least in past incarnations, Kofi Burbridge, too) came out in early 2007. Should be pretty fierce.

Potential For An ABB Sit-In: High, seeing as there’s already a Brother in the house.

3. The Roots present The Jam

Where and When: Highline Ballroom (Chelsea), Thursday March 19 (10:30 p.m,.) and Monday March 23 (11:30 p.m.)

How much: $10-$12

What: The Roots take Manhattan! Everyone’s favorite live hip-hop act becomes the house band for Jimmy Fallon’s new Late Night show this month, and seeing as they’ll be hanging in the Big Apple so often, have decided to schedule a series of regular shows at the Highline and other places. Guests are promised. Most are already sold out.

Potential For An ABB Sit-In: Medium. The Roots shows aren’t official ABB parties and will be underway before the ABB shows let up, but ?uestlove, Black Thought, Captain Kirk and the guys aren’t exactly strangers to the jamband scene. You can’t put anything past anyone. This is the Beacon run, kids.

4. The Peacheaters

Where and When: BB King Blues Club (Times Square), Friday, March 20 (midnight)

How Much: Free

What: The Peacheaters are one of the northeast’s premier ABB cover bands and get pretty deep into the catalog. A fine (and cheap!) way to make sure you hear more ABB songs.

Potential For An ABB Sit-In: Low, but you never know.

5. Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk

Where and When: Highline Ballroom (Chelsea), Friday, March 20 (midnight) and Friday, March 27 (midnight)

How Much: $15-$17 a show (an advance $20 combo ticket will get you to both)

What: Jon Pareles’ favorite New Orleans funk band – and who can blame him – really is one of the sickest funk and R&B acts out there in a city full of them. You’d expect as much, given the legacy a name like “Neville” assumes, but if you’ve never had your face rocked off and shaken your ass at a Dumpstaphunk concert, these are shows to go to regardless of your ABB plans.

Potential For An ABB Sit-In: High. Ivan knows the Brothers – especially Warren – really well and “guests” are already listed in the official Highline billing, for both shows.

6. Blues & Lasers

Where and When: Sullivan Hall (West Village), Saturday, March 21 (midnight)

How Much: TBD

What: Hot, roadhouse-ready blues and rock from members of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (including guitarist Scott Tournet) and their Burlington, Vt.-based pals.

Potential For An ABB Sit-In: Medium. Warren Haynes knows the personnel, having had Grace & the Nocturnals as a tour-length opener for the Mule in 2007, so he’d probably be the guy.

7. Derek Trucks Band

Where and When: Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ), Wednesday, March 25 (8 p.m.)

How Much: $23-$33

What: Look, it’s only 20 minutes away…18 miles, really. A trip down into north Jersey on a Beacon off night gets you an evening of the always-riveting Derek Trucks Band, currently flogging one of its best-ever releases in “Already Free.” You can be almost certain that Mrs. Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, will be in the house, and — how badass is this? — The Bad Plus is the opening act.

Potential For An ABB Sit-In: High, seeing as there’s already a Brother in the house.

8. Eric Krasno and Chapter 2

Where and When: Sullivan Hall (West Village), Thursday, March 26 (11:30 p.m.)

How much: $13-$15

What: Kraz’s Chapter 2 band – one of his endlessly inventive (and many in number) projects – features jamband and groove heavyweights like Adam Deitch and Nigel Hall.

Potential For An ABB Sit-in: High. Kraz knows the Brothers well, and has sat in with most every ABB-family band more than a few times over the years.

9. Will Bernard Band featuring Andy Hess, Stanton Moore and John Medeski

Where and When: Highline Ballroom (Chelsea), Thursday, March 26 (9 p.m.)

How Much: $20-$25

What: Bay Area guitar wizard Will Bernard moved to Brooklyn a year and a half ago and in the middle of other commitments he’s assembled a bona fide supergroup to work out songs from his latest album, Blue Plate Special.

Potential For An ABB Sit-In: Medium. Despite the personnel and their familiarity with the Brothers and the scene in general, much of this show will be happening during, not after, the ABB’s 3/26 show. Still…encore?

10. Devon Allman’s Honeytribe

Where and When: BB King Blues Club (Times Square), Friday, March 27 (midnight)

How Much: Free

What: Gregg’s son Devon has a corking band of his own that despite a range of R&B, rock and other jammy flavors, also nods to his legacy with at least one ABB cover – One Way Out – in his trick bag

Potential For An ABB Sit-In: High, but you’re even more likely to see Devon at the Beacon singing Midnight Rider with the band, as he’s done for the past few years.

BONUS: There are plenty of other places in the city that an ABB-er or two could turn up. Here are a few other possibilities that regardless of whether a Brother stops by, are a guaranteed good night for the restless concertgoer.

  • Shayni Rae’s Truckstop, the Monday night honky tonk series at the National Underground on the Lower East Side that features ace country-rocker (and dear Warren Haynes pal) Kevn Kinney
  • Junior Mack, who plays often at Terra Blues in the West Village and other places, and has been an occasional sit-in guest with the brothers and is a member of Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band.
  • Jay Collins, a bad mother on saxophone with a number of phenomenal NYC-based ensembles, is also a sideman-in-demand for the Gregg Allman Band, Levon Helm, James Hunter and others. He usually turns up at least once with the ABB at the Beacon, and with his own bands will be playing around during March, including at the Rodeo Bar, late night, on March 26. He is also a member of Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band.

Related Content

11 Responses

  1. Any thoughts on which nights are the best bets for the actual ABB shows?

    Being the utter moron that I am, I wanted to see one show and absent-mindedly bought the first night, which is the Monday after Hampton. Since there is no chance of being awake that night past 8 pm, was debating which show to try to trade for.

  2. Whoa! Didn’t realize TBP will be opening up for DTB. Would love to hear a recording of a Derek Trucks sit-in with those guys…. (or anyone else really, as Derek Trucks is the nastiest guitarist on the planet).

  3. Junior Mack is NYC’s best-kept blues secret. He’s worth checking out either at Terra Blues or Lucille’s bar in BB King’s. Try to go on a night when he’s got his band with him, and get both acoustic and electric awesomeness.

  4. Honeytribe tix are far from free unless you have the password for the “paperfast” offer. Otherwise each is .01 + 3.00 + delivery for each standing room seat. Still cheap but not free. Devon is worth paying for, just wish it was as advertised.

  5. Etc. Yiyi Huanhaoyifu, Xu Meng also good bath to wash out. Yiyi wear took off for the first time will be the perfect body emerge, which is an upper leopard pants black dress, also punched in the chest lovely bow, bows with a kind of leopard design wild beauty. Leopard design not only highlights the wearer’s personality, and this also makes the material soft feel close to and touching the meaning of birth, and then because of chest Feng Ting Liu Yiyi full, this body piercing dress is more than one-third of beauty, Xu Meng spot petrochemical, though they do not drool, but that is about it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter