Warren Haynes picked the friendliest confines he could think of to kick start his Man in Motion Tour, New York Cities Beacon Theater. He may have played this venue more then any other artist over recent years and was clearly in a good mood as he showed off his new six piece band complete with Saxophone and backup singer.
If you’ve ever seen and heard Warren Haynes perform Otis Redding and Delbert McClinton covers, you know he has more than a passing interest in both soul and rhythm and blues. But the passion in this man’s singing on “Save Me,” the final cut on Man in Motion, borders on desperation: arguably the most confessional vocal he’s ever done, this single performance alone is enough to redeem the inconsistencies that otherwise afflict the exercise in style that constitute his second solo album.
The Warren Haynes Band is among six groups that have been added to the lineup for the 2011 edition of the All Good Music Festival. Other acts scheduled to join
Furthur @ Best Buy Theater, March 13
Phil Lesh and Bob Weir’s current group, Furthur, continued a run of shows at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square last night and offered quite a contrast between the band’s two sets. While the first set was song oriented to fault, the second stanza was filled with dynamic improvisation thanks in part to the contributions of special guest Warren Haynes.
With the passing of Owsley “Bear” Stanley, a patriarch of the Grateful Dead scene, earlier in the day, many attendees were discussing how Furthur would tip its proverbial hat towards Bear. Bassist Phil Lesh wasted no time as he started the show by saying a few kind words about his old friend and told the crowd he did something he hadn’t done in nearly 20 years – ate a steak – as a tribute to Stanley who famously subsisted on an all-meat diet. With that, the band launched into a Samson and Delilah opener propelled by drummer Joe Russo’s meaty beat.
There wasn’t much improvisation during the a first set that was at times a bit too mellow for its own good. Queen Jane seemed to go on forever, West L.A. Fadeaway lacked the punch and grit that many Grateful Dead versions contained and They Love Each Other was performed at a drowsy pace. John Kadlecik provided one of the highlights of the set with his ferocious guitar work in After Midnight. Because, the eighth track off of The Beatles’ Abbey Road, closed the set in fine fashion as the difficult composition was nailed by the ensemble. In fact, the vocal harmonies on Because were so good, you’d almost think they were prerecorded.
READ ON for more on last night’s Furthur show in NYC…
Tomorrow sees the release of Low Country Blues, the first new studio album from Allman Brothers Band front man Gregg Allman in 14 years. The 12-track blues covers record, produced
For the 22nd year in a row, the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam returned to the guitarist’s hometown of Asheville, NC last night with this year’s event taking place at the Asheville Civic Center. Yesterday’s event saw the debut of the Warren Haynes Band and sets from Missing Cats featuring JoJo Hermann and Sherman Ewing, prog-jammers Umphrey’s McGee, classic rockers the Steve Miller Band, Widespread Panic frontman John Bell, the Gregg Allman Band and a late-night thrown down from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
[All photos by Rob Chapman]
Haynes offered tracks from his upcoming soul album backed by Ron Johnson on bass, Ivan Neville on keys and vocals, Ron Holloway on sax, Terrance Higgins on drums and Ruthie Foster on vocals. Bassist George Porter Jr., keyboardist Ian McLagan and drummer Raymond Weber were featured on the album according to the Relix article announcing the band but did not perform with Warren last night. Warren’s set included a cover of Sneakin’ Sally, which you can check out right here…
Warren Haynes Band – Sneakin’ Sally
[via Jambands.com]
There were plenty of guest spots throughout the evening including John Bell adding vocals to Umphrey’s version of Ain’t No Sunshine, Andy Farag and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band Horns sitting in at points with the Warren Haynes Band, Haynes returning the favor by joining the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Steve Miller Band. Also, South American harpist Carlos Reyes sat in with the Steve Miller Band, Ron Holloway and the DDBB Horns added brass to Gregg Allman’s Just Another Rider, while John Bell joined the horn section for Allman’s take on Guilded Splinters before Steve Miller sat in on Lost Highway.
READ ON for the complete Christmas Jam setlist, a slew of videos from nearly all of the acts and more photos from last night’s show…
Catching up with the mighty Warren Haynes is always a catch-as-catch-can affair: he’s expressive and thoughtful in his answers, but with so much on his plate at all times, you run the risk of missing something if you stay on one subject too long. There’s a lot to touch on, as always: Mule is wrapping up one of its most successful touring years ever, but staying off the road for much of 2011.
Over the last few years Gregg Allman has battled a string of health problems, which have forced the legendary B3 player off the road for stretches at a time. With
In an age of Facebook, Twitter and any number of social media outlets capable of documenting the minutia of your day to day life, sometimes something as simple as the lost art of the phone call serves as the best way to connect with someone on a personal level. For their latest social activism campaign, HeadCount is doing just that by taking a back to basics approach in order to remind people to head to the polls to exercise the Constitutional right to vote in next Tuesday’s mid-term elections.
The non-partisan organization, that was founded in 2004 by Andy Bernstein and Disco Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein, and has helped register over 175,000 people, has enlisted a impressive roster of musicians from the indie to jam world, that includes Jim James (MMJ), Willie Nelson, ?uestlove, Matt Berninger (The National), Jon Fishman (Phish) and Warren Haynes (ABB, Gov’t Mule) to not only pre-record reminder messages, but also make live personal calls to a select number of the approximately 25,000 people who have made a “Pledge to Vote” via HeadCount.
In a media conference call yesterday to talk about the inventive initiative, HeadCount board member Bob Weir (Grateful Dead/Furthur) stressed the importance of a “Vote For You” mentality, saying that young people need to take the future into consideration and participate instead of letting a bunch of “crusty old folks” made the decisions that have direct impact on their lives and those of future generations. Weir, who joked that his call list was so large he better get to work on it immediately, said that would seize the opportunity to talk to people to help figure out where the organization’s efforts will be centered in the future.
READ ON for more from HeadCount’s conference call…
Royal Family Ball @ Terminal 5, October 2
Last Saturday night saw New York City’s Terminal 5 play host to the 3rd annual Royal Family Ball presented by Royal Family Records. With a huge sound and a stage that was bursting at the seams, fans were able to partake of a rotating set of jazz and hip-hop artists that included the members of Soulive, Lettuce, The Shady Horns, Nigel Hall, Talib Kweli and John Scofield.
Highlights included tracks from Soulive’s homage to the Beatles, Rubber Soulive, with Come Together, Something, Eleanor Rigby and I Want You (She’s So Heavy). A surprise appearance by Warren Haynes sealed the night for most, as he traded verses with Nigel Hall and blistering guitar licks with John Scofield on Born Under a Bad Sign.
Nigel Hall Setlist:
Intro – Hang It Up, Wait Till I Get Home, Too Sweet, Never Know, Gimme A Sign, Baby I Do Love You, Never Gonna Let You GoLettuce Setlist:
Intro, Blast Off, Sam Huff, Last Suppitt, King of the Bergs, Move Somethin w/ Talib Kweli, The Blast w/ Talib Kweli, Get By w/ Talib Kweli, Break Out, Relax, The Flu w/ John Scofield, Move On Up w/ John Scofield, Makin My Way Back HomeSoulive Setlist:
Come Together, Something, Eleanor Rigby, I Want You, El Ron, What You See Is What You Get w/ John Scofield, Hottentot – w/ John Scofield, Born Under a Bad Sign w/ John Scofield, Warren Haynes, Do The 2, Too MuchEncore: James Brown Medley w/ John Scofield
[Setlists courtesy of jambands.com]
READ ON for Jeremy’s fabulous pics from the Royal Family Ball…
