Thanks for the video as I missed the last song as I had to rush out of there. As Fretsman stated, it was a tremendous show. I probably would have liked to have seen a couple of songs cut as it was a long show but there were so many great performances, I love Cheap Trick but was kind of underwhelmed by Robin Zander particularly on Rambling Man. The novelty of him singing it was more exciting than the actual performance.

Jimmy Hall crushed it with his songs as did Bighead Todd. I also liked the idea of so many young talents being exposed to the audience tonight. Johnny Strachella of the Allman Betts Band is also a pleasure to watch on guitar as is the continued growth of Duane Betts..

[Edited on 12/29/2019 by Agerst1574]

Duane Betts is puzzling. When he often set in for a song or two in the 90's with the ABB and in the 2000s with Great Southern, he was nowhere close to playing on the level of Warren, Danny Toler, Andy Aledort etc.

Then Dawes was playing where I was on a job before I retired and they got good reviews in the paper and I found a couple videos on YouTube and they were a neat, polished and tight unit. So it was puzzling they would add Duane Betts as a player in their road band. I wondered if Dickey, who is a multimillionaire, had bought the band new equipment, instruments and tour bus.

But no the guitar player had an old road worn Telecaster. And I could see Duand Betts had a Goldtop that was probably one of Dickey's signature customs which it turned out it was and on a couple songs Duane had Dickey's old 1956 very road worn Stratocaster hard tail which I recognized immediately.

What was completely surprising was Duane Betts' playing. Duane suddenly was playing like someone unzipped a plastic bag that was covering his entire body and this new musician stepped out. Suddenly Duane was playing like a man who's father was a great player and composer and he had soaked up all that and the great guitar players and musicians Duane was around in the 90's and later. It was the biggest evolutional forward leap I've ever seen in a guitar player.

I don't know what happened but perhaps NOT being on stage with his father is what flipped the switch.

Saw the Alman Betts Band in Blacksburg, Virginia recently and don't miss them. Those guys are there to play and leave a trail of smoke on the stage.

[Edited on 12/29/2019 by blackey]

I have friends of mine who are major Dawes fans. The first time I saw them was in 2010 and they reminded me so much of the mellow California bands that I disliked so much in the 70’s. When Duane joined them, I found it to be an odd addition to the band. I had seen Duane several times with Dickey, and respected his playing but thought he was in a difficult situation being in his father’s shadow.

I retired in 2014 and one of the things I wanted to do was to see Warren’s Christmas Jam. I went to the one in 2015 and Dawes was on the bill with in the band. Their set was killer. A cover of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” highlighted the set which was guitars in your face. A large part of that was Duane.

I saw Dawes a year later in Cincinnati and Duane was still in the band. The performance was low key and there was something up with the band. Duane was isolated on the corner of the stage and just looked miserable, He left the band shortly afterwards as he was a gun for hire. Taylor Goldsmith, the songwriter and guitarist for Dawes, is a great guitar player and the band decided to go with one guitarist but lost a lot of the energy.

When Duane got together with Devon, I was concerned that Devon would overshadow Duane as Devon has a need to be the focus of the band. But Duane has held his own. He is so confident with his playing and singing and he is the reason I go to see the Allman Betts Band. I love watching him play with Johnny.

One other thing about last night. What was the deal with Eric Krasnos? He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but on the stage.

[Edited on 12/29/2019 by Agerst1574]

In recent interviews Duane had nothing but praise for Dawes and says they are great friends of his whom he met in California. Duane Betts officially lives in Malibu. There have been other changes in Dawes but it does seem someone wanted to continue without Duane Betts. It may have been an experiment from the beginning or they wanted to give Duane some exposure with a new audience for him.

Taylor Goldsmith said in an interview just after Duane was in the band that Dyane was a great friend and he was hired to be another guitar voice in their road band but was not an official member and wouldn't be on their records.

What was completely surprising was Duane Betts' playing. Duane suddenly was playing like someone unzipped a plastic bag that was covering his entire body and this new musician stepped out. Suddenly Duane was playing like a man who's father was a great player and composer and he had soaked up all that and the great guitar players and musicians Duane was around in the 90's and later. It was the biggest evolutional forward leap I've ever seen in a guitar player.

I don't know what happened but perhaps NOT being on stage with his father is what flipped the switch.

Saw the Alman Betts Band in Blacksburg, Virginia recently and don't miss them. Those guys are there to play and leave a trail of smoke on the stage.[Edited on 12/29/2019 by blackey]

Interesting observations. I think your point about not being on stage with Dickey is an important one. I don't see how Duane Betts could win that horse race. He has flourished since, and I don't think that is a mistake, although I am sure there are other factors as well. Duane seems to have a lot of respect and love for his Dad, but he needed to be out of his shadow from a musical standpoint.

He seems to be quietly confident in himself and his playing; Devon and he seem to be getting along as more than just band mates, the whole band seems in a good place right now. I hope they can get the synergy to utilize all their talent on their own. By the way, I LOVE listeniig to Berry on bass

Duane recently posted that he was three years or so clean & sober.... that can go a long way to being better at just about anything.