Warren Haynes split up his record release show for his new fantastic album Ashes & Dust in predictable manner. The first set focused on the current tunes and second would be “songs you know” in his words. The beautiful thing was the new selections were just as invigorating as old standards.
Joined by the dynamic acoustic outfit Railroad Earth, Haynes was confident in the new offerings and with good reason. “Is It Me Or You” opened with a killer slide solo from Warren; it let you know this was going to be a solid night of music.
That stated, the historic Town Hall was not ready for the rowdy crowd though as bars closed early and Allman Brothers fans went thirsty, on the plus side they had “Company Man” with Carey Harmon on drums cooking along to quench their musical thirst. Andy Goessling brought out the clarinet for “Stranded In Self-Pity” while bass player Andrew Altman bounced along. Some mean picking on the mandolin by John Skehan highlighted “Coal Tattoo” and violin player Tim Carbone took every opportunity to bow up soaring highs.
While the band was vital and stellar, there was really only one rockstar on stage and Haynes delivered the goods, playing flowing guitar for “Blue Maiden’s Tale” and signing a powerful rendition of “Spots of Time” to close the first set. Dealing with a hard cutoff the band wasted no time coming right back out for “Angel Band” into a deliberate and meaningful “Soulshine”.
Those two gems were fantastic before a heartfelt “Patchwork Quilt”. Warren’s voice is so soulful that a cover of Neil Young’s “Comes A Time” came off too clean, while the set closing “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House” let the boogie go and woogie around the classy venue.
The bluesy bluegrass combo of Warren Haynes and Railroad Earth was glorious on this evening, any fans of live music should make it a point to check out this tour as Haynes is invigorated and Railroad Earth is conducting a great ride.
