‘THAT was smokin’!’…
So spoke one of those hundred or so present July 26th at the 200+ capacity Nectar’s in Burlington, VT to witness Duane Betts and his Palmetto Motel band. And his statement was most apropos concerning the group’s take on the Allman Brothers Band’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” appearing in the homestretch of their roughly ninety-minute performance; this read on the classic Dickey Betts’ instrumental was a microcosm of the quintet’s showing at large.
In road support of Wild And Precious Life, the recently-released superb debut solo studio album of which Betts spoke so proudly more than once, there’s really no denying the ensemble’s earnest approach to the record. Beginning the set with “Saints To Sinners” and “Evergreen,” the musicians weren’t content to just play the songs as arranged on the record but took some time to explore the spaces in and around the tunes.
In doing so, the strengths of the unit were readily apparent. Betts and Johnny Stachela continue to build on their rapport as guitarists: the pair are quite a complementary partnership. Whereas the latter dives right into his spotlights, wasting no time to wring the emotion from his fretboard, the former constructs his solos as he composes his original material, that is, with an intro followed by verses, a chorus, and oftentimes a bridge.
It’s an approach that deserves, compels, and rewards close listening even when he’s not wholly successful. Expanding such effort to do so on this humid summer evening, as did most of those present, (no doubt with all due respect to the bandleader’s lineage), invariably revealed some minor shortfalls.
Duane Betts and Palmetto Motel were a bit wobbly on the aforementioned classic ABB instrumental, not always catching the subtle rhythmic sway of the composition. A cover by another musical icon suffered in much the same way, as the group action was slightly less-than-robust as it dug into Bob Marley’s “Small Axe.”
Opener Gabriel Kelly was likewise brave in taking the spotlight to sing a most novel choice from the Allman Brother’s discography. But on the late Gregg Allman’s “Stand Back,” from Eat A Peach, his halting delivery undermined the emotional impact of the lyrics as he read them from a sheet. Nevertheless, the surrounding musicianship closely approximated the panache of the original arrangement: Stachela nailed the slide parts while his counterpart proffered a sharp solo of his own. Corresponding high points elsewhere also compensated for the occasional downturn of momentum. For instance, the encore of “Taking Time” (from Betts’ 2018 EP Sketches of American Music) was as full of vigor as the riff-based cull from the new album “Cold Dark World.”
Clearly, Duane Betts and company are capable of what their older Brothers used to call ‘hittin’ the note.’ At ‘the house that Phish built,’ they did so often enough in what the frontman wryly referred to as an intimate setting. A fairly new alliance, on just their second tour together, the fivesome will certainly benefit from more shared experiences on stage.
In fact, such honing of their collective skills should allow everyone to consistently play with the imagination and panache of keyboardist John Ginty. From the very beginning of this night in the Green Mountains, the New Jersey native was the unsung hero of this event, so hopefully he received the appropriate proportion of attention for his efforts during the post-show meet-and-greet.
*****
Set List:
Saints To Sinners
Evergreen
Small Axe
Colors Fade
Stand Back
Rivers Run
Cold Dark World
In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed
Waiting On A Song
Stare At The Sun
