Really interesting show, Dickey's final Beacon Run in 2000. The first 3 tunes are the same that open Peakin' at the Beacon and are infinitely better than what they chose to put on that album. This show isn't flawless, but it is definitely a better representation of this lineup than that album is.
I always thought the band was in a compromised position with Peakin' at the Beacon. Legions of fans hadn't heard Dickey's rocky Spring 2000 shows or this lineup at all since it was just a little over a year old going into the Summer tour. So fans reading the bickering in the papers wanted to "listen to the tapes" for themselves.
But the band also wanted out of its Epic contract, and at the same time wanted to put out something they are proud of. But if they released a stellar album with sharp playing from Dickey, they look like jerks who kicked out an original member using manufactured cause. But if they release an album full of warts and clams, it won't sell as well and will be an embarrassment in the catalogue. Butch repeatedly went on record stating it wasn't something the band was proud of, which isn't how you promote and sell albums.
Peakin' at the Beacon has never been as bad as its reputation, but it definitely has rough patches. Dickey goes off the rails on "Ain't Wasting Time". "Leave My Blues at Home" is a bit of a train wreck. "Stand Back" is stuck in the mud, despite some nice playing from Derek. Even the Grammy-nominated "High Falls", Dickey and Derek lose each other on those trademark harmony lines. "Seven Turns" is probably the gem of the album (which I think is from this show).
But this show is solid, there's a much better live album they could have culled from these shows if they wanted to.
I'll take a listen tonight. Peakin' At The Beacon was how the band got a final album in Epic Record's hands to complete their deal with them. After 2nd Set in 1995 which sold poorly and their last studio album in 1994, Where It All Begins, they voted not to put out another album because they felt they deserved a better deal from Epic especially since Where It All Begins sold over 600,000 copies, their best selling new album after the 1989 reunion.
Also the Derek, Dickey line up had some smokin' shows in 1999. I know that because I saw three of them including Las Vegas where I saw Susan and her band the first time. It's strange Dickey had unraveled that much in one year. But supposedly Dickey was drinking and using a lot. Butch said by 2000 Dickey was really just a drunk and addict. And a multimillionaire living in a mansion in a gated community in South Florida. So I guess Dickey's pride hit bottom when he was voted out but he certainly didn't financially. Dickey was in that mansion with a guest house, dock, boat, tennis court, swimming pool and 40 guitars the day he passed on.
Now that I look back and with the fact they all wanted to sunset the Allman Brothers Band in 2009 except for Butch who talked them into giving him and the band another five years so they closed up shop in 2014 even though Butch asked for yet another five years but this time, 2014, Gregg, Warren and Derek said no....I didn't really care for the last lineup. I never listen to any of their shows now or Hitting The Note.
I usually listen to the original lineup when it's Allman Brothers Band time or Eat A Peach side one or Brothers and Sisters.
I started seeing the band in the spring of 1970 and I was into Duane, Dickey and Berry on that front line with Gregg to the left.
Dickey wrote more of my favorite ABB songs than Gregg so seeing the band without Dickey and knowing Dickey had been pushed out was always kinda depressing to me for lack of a better term.
What Dickey contributed to Brothers and Sisters and that album is what saved the band in the wake of Duane's death and that album also is what made the band, for a few years, as big as The Rolling Stones and The Eagles.
To be honest with the other fans here I never saw the last lineup after 2008 and only saw them occasionally when I did. I stopped multiple shows each summer after Dickey was kicked out.
It would have been okay with me if they had broken up in 2000 and according to Gregg they almost did. If Warren hadn't agreed to come back Gregg said he was leaving after Jimmy Herring turned them down.
I'm a Derek and Warren fan too. But I much prefer TTB and Gov't Mule. I've seen both several times and always enjoy it.
I did go to New York City for The Brothers show and enjoyed it too. Gregg and Butch also had passed on by then and this, to me, wasn't technically the Allman Brothers Band. It was a labor of love for the memory of the ABB. Blue Sky with Chuck Leavell was a big moment to me. Big respect for Dickey and his contributions to the ABB.
Much better performances on this show than Peakin' At The Beacon which selected songs from various nights and inexplicablely chose performances from Dickey which are not as good as he is here. Wonder how the selections were decided???
Dickey has several impressive solos. Hot stuff.
