I'm realizing I haven't listened to enough of the ABB lineup when Jack Pearson was in the band (97-99). What are some shows I should check out? Are there some good ones circulating out there? Anything I should fire up on youtube? Any direction is appreciated.
On YouTube the 1997 concert in Raleigh North Carolina is amazing. It is hot, hot, hot. Gregg is singing well and the drums are smoking and Otiel is knocking it out of the park on bass and Jack and Dickey are locked in and smoking. Dickey is really on fire. Dickey slam dunks his solos on Statesboro Blues and Blue Sky. Just the best Dickey playing.
I searched for that show because I was in the audience and was stunned as to how hot and good the band was that night. I wondered if I remembered correctly and I did.
Also it is note worthy and kinda of odd for the ABB that no Gibson electric guitars were played that night. Otiel played a Fender bass. Dickey played a yellow Fender Stratocaster all night and Jack played a G & L Strat style guitar. There is an acoustic set and it was hard to tell from my seat what kind of guitars were used even with my binoculars.
Jack sings Dimples and he and Dickey both knock the guitars out of the park. Very hot What's Done is Done on this show too. Well they rocked it from start to finish.
After seeing this show, I was relieved that Warren and Woody leaving wasn't going to get the band off kilter. And it was very surprising that this lineup only lasted 2 years. And the two times I saw them after Derek replaced Jack were really good. Derek and Dickey played well together. But by 2000 Dickey was not playing well and apparently behind the scenes was very bad with Dickey being mean to everybody and Gregg and Butch were going to quit until they found out the other was leaving too so they ganged up on Dickey and forced him out. But you know all of that.
Also track down some of the Instant Live shows with Jack sitting in for Warren in 2005. There are a handful of Jack/Derek/Ron Holloway shows that are interesting to say the least. Also, 8/19/05 features Warren, Jack, and Derek for 'blues hour.'
7/4/97 @ International Horse Park - Conyers is a good show to track down ... there is a Capt Skipper Re-master available of that one.
