Well Music Lovers,

A few months ago tickets went on sale for The Gregg Allman Band at the ACL Moody Theater here in Austinfor this last Saturday night. Having no extra funds on hand at the time I just put it on the back burner and waited for the date to get here. Well, Saturday morning arrived and when i checked the old pocket book, it was looking pretty good so I went on craigslist and lo and behold I scored 5th row seats front and center.

I've seen Gregg many, many times through the years but I was looking forward to this show after reading the reviews on his new band. He has added three horn players and reworked most of his tunes to fit more of an R & B style sound.

Showtime! Statesboro Blues with horns? oh yeah! kind of a New Orleans back beat, nice slide guitar but focused more on making it swing? very cool. The next two hours turned out to be one of the best GAB shows I've ever seen. His voice was really strong, the band really cooked, the new song arrangements really fit the new sound so well. As you can see from the set list the song selections are mostly reworked Allman Brothers tunes. Having heard all of these songs a million times I can tell you they sure did sound fresh on Saturday night.

Set List:

Statesboro Blues- mighty fine!

I'm No Angel- played well, Gregg's voice is strong on this one

Come and Go Blues- w/horns, real swampy sounding, great new arrangement

Stormy Monday-real bluesy with the horns fitting right in

These Days- Gregg on acoustic, with feeling

Can't Be Satisfied- same swampy feel w/horns

Ain't Wasting Time No More- w/horns really nice

Old Time Feeling - Straight R & B sax blowing the roof off

Cradle of Civilization- new instrumental, Gregg took a break and let the band funk it up

Soul Shine- w/horns and very nice duet vocals from Scott Sharard the guitar player

Trouble No More- very nice, sounded fresh

Hot Lanta- w/horns very cool

Mellissa- Gregg on acoustic with minimal backing, his voice was very strong on this one

Midnight Rider- the swampy version from the Laid Back album, so good

Whippin' Post - completely re-worked, maybe 4 minutes long instead of 20

Encore:

Southbound- great R & B version with horns punching it out, Gregg introduced the song as written by Mr. Dickey Betts

One Way Out- w/horns had the crowd into a complete frenzy

The crowd was really into it, there were about 6-7 standing ovations during the show. Gregg looked really surprised to see the crowd going so wild. I was pretty surprised too.

So good to see Gregg getting this kind of response and attention at this stage of the game. He's been clean and sober for awhile and his voice is sounding about as good as I've heard in a while.

So, I get out of church on Sunday afternoon and i thought Gregg Allman was so good the night before how could I possibly miss Boz Scaggs who was playing that night at the ACL Theater? Thank God for craigslist! fourth row front and center for $40 Hallelujah!

I've been lucky enough to catch Boz the last four times he has played in Austin so I knew what to expect. The last two records from Boz have been a musical trip back to his roots covering Al Green, Brook Benton, Curtis Mayfield, and some others that have been musical influences.

Boz has a great band and kicked off the show with a tune from the legendary New Orleans R & B legend Earl King and the journey was on!

Set List:

It All Went Down The Drain- Bayou Blues at it's best

Mixed Up Shook Up Girl- one of the highlights from the Memphis album

I'm A Fool To Care- He introduced this one as a song that he had heard at the school dances in Plano Texas when he was just a kid. Years later Doug Sahm made it a staple of just about all of his shows and Boz said that he has always wanted to record it as a tribute to Doug. very cool!

Hell To Pay- Great new original song of the new album with Bonnie Raitt as the duet partner, on stage Miss Monet was more than capable

Harbor Lights- one of the most beautiful songs ever written

Gone Baby Gone- another track from Memphis paying tribute to the Al Green style

I Want To See You- great track off the new album

Georgia- memory lane with one his best from the seventies

Miss Sun- hot duet with Miss Monet, what a set of lungs!

Something To Talk About- featuring Miss Monet, she sure knows how to heat things up

Last Tango on 16th Street- one of the best track off of the new album, foxtrot anyone?

Dirty Lowdown- gotta have it, classic stuff

What Can I Say- another classic from the seventies

Encore:

There is a Storm Coming- beautiful new song, real showcase for his voice

Lido's Shuffle- finally got the crowd on their feet dancing

Loan Me A Dime- what a classic, Boz and the band really stretched out kept the crowd on their feet

Second Encore:

Sick And Tired-He started in New Orleans and finished with another New Orleans classic

Solid two hour show, I was really impressed that he only played a few of the "hits" and really showcased newer material. His voice sounds great and he really played a lot of the lead guitar.

Two nights in a row of some of the best music I've ever heard. Took me two days to get over it, getting old I guess!

J.P.

[Edited on 5/13/2015 by Jpick]