Very nice. Great job Alan as always. How bittersweet indeed...

Great writing. Hard not to tear up a little.

I had knee trouble and couldn't travel so missed all the final Beacon shows.

I sounds as if, and according to Jaimoe, they finally did come full circle or close to it.

I saw the original band a dozen times and Fillmore East and Eat A Peach have been my favorite albums since they came out. I'll seem ever post Duane lineup many times and many of the shows were close to the original band but none equaled the original band to my ears. Maybe this time they did. It sounds as if with those guitars on stage they were thinking about Duane, Berry and maybe even old Dickey and that special energy and vibe I only felt from Duane and the original band may have gathered on that stage for the final show.

And final show it was. Supposedly the few that could or would play in a revived Allman Brothers have all said they would not do it with Gregg gone.

Glad we have the live shows and CDs and DVDS.

As I always say, too bad they didn't document this beyond the instant live releases.

There should have been an in depth documentary as well as a video box set of the last run.

Great article, Thank you

Last Beacon run - Thank you AL Paul & Blackey for the insights into the band.
I caught the second to last show an just on fire. Second set included: Les Brers, Will the Circle be unbroken,
Dreams and then Whipping Post, incredible. Duane's guitars were being played. Surely, it was only
a matter of months before the 50th Tour was announced. Memories..

I was lucky enough to see 3 of the last 6 shows including the last 2 and that 10/27 show was fantastic! 10/28 is in a category of its own, but 10/27 is a smokin’ show worth checking out!

Last Beacon run - Thank you AL Paul & Blackey for the insights into the band.
I caught the second to last show an just on fire. Second set included: Les Brers, Will the Circle be unbroken,
Dreams and then Whipping Post, incredible. Duane's guitars were being played. Surely, it was only
a matter of months before the 50th Tour was announced. Memories..

Alan Paul, your prose style makes me think of Gregg's singing in some ways - crisp, lean, not loaded with a whole lotta added gymnastics, focused on hittin' the note for sure.

You pick the right words rather than throwing every word possible into the mix. It's appreciated.

Alan Paul, your prose style makes me think of Gregg's singing in some ways - crisp, lean, not loaded with a whole lotta added gymnastics, focused on hittin' the note for sure.

You pick the right words rather than throwing every word possible into the mix. It's appreciated.

Thank you. That's quite a compliment. Really appreciated.

too bad they didn't document this beyond the instant live releases.

There should have been an in depth documentary as well as a video box set of the last run.

This is, of course, true. But consider this: maybe the last shows don't play out the way they did under the pressure of cameras and crews. Maybe it's totally different. I was there for several DVD releases, where the cameras were a bit intrusive. To the best of my recollection, that was not really the case with Moogis, however.

I sure wish they had done a documentary, with me doing interviews!

I sure wish they had done a documentary, with me doing interviews!

That would have been the way to do it. This band deserves to be documented far better than it has been.

Got a future book in the pipeline?

I was lucky enough to see 3 of the last 6 shows including the last 2 and that 10/27 show was fantastic! 10/28 is in a category of its own, but 10/27 is a smokin’ show worth checking out!

Last Beacon run - Thank you AL Paul & Blackey for the insights into the band.
I caught the second to last show an just on fire. Second set included: Les Brers, Will the Circle be unbroken,
Dreams and then Whipping Post, incredible. Duane's guitars were being played. Surely, it was only
a matter of months before the 50th Tour was announced. Memories..

I, too, was lucky enough to see three of the last six shows. 10/27 was my 25th and last show. It was an amazing way to thanks and good bye.......

That was a fine introspect / postscript reminisce of an important night. As it sounds the band hit on all eight cylinders for the moment, Al did it right with the write up. I will be honest and say Al's reviews over the past few years have seemed at times overly rose colored glasses, while well written. So I entered this one with a pre-attitude on what to expect. But I found this review to be an honest, stellar, insightful, meaningful and GREAT write up. Thank You sir, and a new found perspective on AP. I feel after reading that piece, as if I am standing looking out over some great valley, the clouds lifting, and seeing some panorama from a view I never have, and yes, looking out into the great unknown. But the band planted many seeds in this huge valley. Watch them grow.

They went out like Jordan with the Bulls, and not the Wizards, for sure.

on TOP!

Thanks guys.

That run and the intensity of it for me - being at rehearsals, going to every show, having Kirk and Kirsten West staying with me, doing all this reporting throughout - is something that may never be matched in my life.

Someone asked what I'm working on now - no new book yet, but I'm ready to crank up for something. Still pretty actively promoting SRV book and talking about some film projects that will hopefully come to fruition.

Hi Al. Did Kirk's relationship with the band ever get mended? I think actually it may have just been an issue with Gregg.

Have you ever approached Dickey about a book project?

[Edited on 10/30/2019 by steved]

Great article.....

I was at the last show and that definitely took me back there !

Thanks to a Miracle Ticket from Mike Solo I was able to make the second show of the final six.

I've estimated I have seen Gregg solo or with the ABB 38 times since we had him at Rockers supporting I'm No Angel back in the 80's.

This band was a huge part of my musical life from high school on.

[Edited on 11/4/2019 by PhotoRon286]

Thanks guys.

That run and the intensity of it for me - being at rehearsals, going to every show, having Kirk and Kirsten West staying with me, doing all this reporting throughout - is something that may never be matched in my life.

Someone asked what I'm working on now - no new book yet, but I'm ready to crank up for something. Still pretty actively promoting SRV book and talking about some film projects that will hopefully come to fruition.

I haven't had the time to read the SRV book yet but I'll be buying another copy for my unofficial brother in law for Christmas.

Did Kirk's relationship with the band ever get mended? I think actually it may have just been an issue with Gregg.

Have you ever approached Dickey about a book project?

Yes on Kirk. I'm not sure how much he's shared or wants to and it's really his business and choice, but he's fine with the band, working on archival releases etc.

I think if Dickey ever does a book, he'd want a fresh voice. But just not sure what he's up to there. He was working on something with someone else a few years back.

Yes you are right it being their business. Just nice to hear its good after all he did and does for the band.

Would be cool to hear Dickey's perspective someday.

I always thought we get a book from Butch. Being a drummer (amateur) I looked forward to what he would have added. And he always had something to say.

Enjoy your books Al. Keep'em coming.

Just a quick Kirk story / got to sit on stage one show right next to Oteil (on the way to see him now w/ Dead & Co) and as Kirk was guiding me and a buddy to sit on this equipment box right in line with the whole band (still crazy that happened!) he says, “Enjoy the show, but you are not part of the show!” Understood advice to behave (we did) and have a blast (we did!).

If all Butch posted on this site from the 1990s forward, it would make a decent size book. I had a chance to ask Dickey who is singing "People Can You Feel It Love Is Everywhere " on Revival from Idlewild South and he said he remembered when they did that in the studio. They were all clapping and moving around and he said I know it doesnt sound like it but that is everybody in the band. I said even Butch and Jaimoe are singing people can you feel it? Dickey said yeah that's all of us.

I mentioned that to Butch on this site in the 90's and Butch said he remembered that too and the whole band is also doing the chant on Black Hearted Woman on the first album and the pass they used has Berry Oakley laughing at the end as Berry got tickled and they told the Producer to leave it on the track. Then Butch said that is Butch laughing at the end of Pony Boy on Brothers and Sisters.

On this site in the 90's is when Butch indicated how pissed off he was when he found out a 1991 best hits release of tracks from the Capricorn albums had sold over a million copies. Butch said the band members thanks to trusting Capricorn back in the day got nothing for that release which was actually on Polydor. But Gregg and Dickey are making over a million dollars in song writing royalties and Butch was steamed that he didn't share Liz Reed with Dickey as Butch wrote the drum parts and a change up or two and Butch said he went to Duane to complain and Duane sided with Dickey saying the member who brings the song to the band gets the credit and what the band does to it is more working an arrangement. Butch didn't buy it but didn't want to go against Duane because they all knew that it was actually Duane's band. If they had used Hot Lanta on that package I doubt Butch would have gotten pissed. They all share that song.

But by reading Butch's posts over the next years in the 90's I could tell it was creating tension between him and Dickey with Warren saying after he quit un 1997 that two of the original members are fussing about something that happened way back in in 1970.

Butch later said he was going to find ways for him to have more income from the band as Gregg and especially Dickey are making millions more than the rest of them. I think this was a big part of Dickey leaving and Butch's IRS problems. You start private businesses and I've had a few friends who failed to get their taxes, social security and withholding for them selves and anyone else doing work for one of the businesses just right and a few years later there is the taxman knocking on the door with a back taxes, interest and penalty bills that are staggering and can just about wipe you out.

I don't know. Brother Butch was a fine drummer and was the Freight train for the band from start to finish. Putting his posts off this site into book form may not be cool. But a lot of it was just inside information about the band from the day Gregg arrived to join to the end. Well the last few years of the last lineup, he didn't post as much. Butch I found it fascinating and it corrected and filled in the things us ild fans were hearing back then and even in the 90's.

Great stuff Al, Thank You.

I try to describe to people who never saw them how great the band was the last 15 years of their existence when everyone was clean. But really it's too much for anyone to comprehend having not been there.