ABB Finishes Beacon Run With Old Friends

The Allman Brothers finished their 40th Anniversary Run at the Beacon the same way they started it – tight playing and plenty of guests. On Friday, the band welcomed keyboard great Ivan Neville, new friend Kid Rock, Southern Rock legends Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie and Paul T. Riddle of the Marshall Tucker Band as well as family members Devon Allman and Berry Oakley Jr. For the final show of the run the Allmans were joined by Duane Allman mentor Floyd Miles, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead with longtime ABB band member Chuck Leavell sitting in on keys for most of the show.

In watching every show either live or via Moogis, the band seemed to lose steam for the final two gigs of the run. The original members seemed incredibly jazzed to celebrate their actual anniversary with no guests making for a monumental concert on Thursday, but neither Saturday or Sunday came close to matching that energy. That being said, there were plenty of highlights from the two shows including Warren’s sweet vocals on Sugaree and Chuck Leavell’s glorious solo on Jessica. Also, Kid Rock did a good job with the Soulshine vocals and the Allmans feted Lynryd Skynryd by playing some of Freebird to open the second set on Friday.

Setlists:

Friday, March 27

Set One: Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More, You Don’t Love Me, New Instrumental, End of The Line, The Sky is Cryin’ (w/ Jimmy Hall), Grits Ain’t Groceries (w/ Jimmy Hall), Keep On Smilin’ (w/ Jimmy Hall), Soulshine (w/ Kid Rock and Paul T. Riddle), Can’t You See (w/ Kid Rock, Jimmy Hall and Paul T. Riddle)

Set Two: Free Bird, Nobody Left to Run With, Who’s Been Talking? (w/ Ivan Neville), Midnight Rider (w/ Devon Allman), One Way Out (w/ Devon Allman, Berry Oakley, Jr., Jimmy Hall), Les Brers in A Minor (w/ Paul T. Riddle)

Encore: Melissa, Southbound (w/ Jimmy Hall, Paul T. Riddle, Berry Oakley, Jr.)

Saturday, March 28

Set One: Little Martha, Done Somebody Wrong, Trouble No More, Rocking Horse, Walk On Gilded Splinters, Who To Believe, Born Under a Bad Sign (w/ Floyd Miles), Stormy Monday (w/ Floyd Miles and Chuck Leavell), Come and Go Blues (w/ Chuck Leavell), Jessica (w/ Chuck Leavell and Paul Riddle)

Set Two: Sugaree ( w/ Bob Weir and Phil Lesh), I Know You Rider ( w/ Bob Weir and Phil Lesh), Franklin’s Tower ( w/ Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Chuck Leavell), Black Hearted Woman > Mountain Jam Tease > Little Martha tease > Mountain Jam (w/ Chuck Leavell)

Encore: Statesboro Blues

Rumor has it the band will be releasing a box set from the run and there’s plenty of stellar material to choose from. Oteil and Derek Trucks win the co-MVPs for the run with Warren getting all the credit in the world for both his playing and for picking the setlists. Just when you think Derek has hit his peak as a player he raises the bar. Plenty of legendary guitarists sat in with the band over the course of 15 shows and Derek showed them all up with ease. Oteil led the band’s numerous improvisations and laid down a magical bass solo nearly every night.

Finally, we hope we haven’t seen the last of Moogis. The quality of Moogis’ webcasts were so far off the charts they need new charts. Both the audio and video were flawless. For about $8 a night you got to be part of the action from the comfort of my couch on the nights I couldn’t make it to the Beacon. I’d love to see other bands work with Butch Trucks to offer webcasts of select shows. Thanks to Butch and the band for allowing their fans across the country to share in what was the best Beacon run ever.