Redfish, we are lucky. With this line-up, the Allmans had a company that recorded most of their shows and has them for sale online. You could get them almost immediately after each concert; thus they are called "Instant Live." Just a little bit of searching on this site will lead you to them; tons of shows, professionally recorded and pressed, officially licensed by the band. It's awesome.

Redfish, we are lucky. With this line-up, the Allmans had a company that recorded most of their shows and has them for sale online. You could get them almost immediately after each concert; thus they are called "Instant Live." Just a little bit of searching on this site will lead you to them; tons of shows, professionally recorded and pressed, officially licensed by the band. It's awesome.

It is my understanding that the "Instant Live" CDs are no longer available. They were sold on the hittinthenote.com website which no longer exists. Am I missing something?

http://www.munck-music.com/collections/the-allman-brothers-band

Still lots on munck music

http://www.munck-music.com/collections/the-allman-brothers-band

Still lots on munck music

Wow...this is great! Thank you! But so many to choose from. Is there a general consensus as to a few which are considered to be the best or "must have" shows? Or would you care to share a few of your personal favorites? I'm particularly interested in shows that have Blue Sky, Liz Reed and Layla in the set list...but I'd still be interested in other top rated shows even if they don't contain those specific songs.

Everyone has their favorites, and these are a few of my favorites:

The Fox Box, Sept 2004
Maybe not essential anymore, but at the time this quintessential Haynes/Trucks-era Allmans. 3 nights, no repeats except for 3 distinct versions of "Dreams" with a different soloist (the Jack Pearson version is maybe my all-time favorite). One of the first times the band worked out "Blue Sky" after Dickey left, and you can hear the crowd go wild. It's quite a moment.

Knob Creek 2005
Warren had a few nights off for personal reasons, so it was Derek Trucks, Jack Pearson and Ron Holloway. Great combo, excellent "Mountain Jam"

Jazz Fest 2007
Kind of official, you listed this, but it's one of my favorite shows from the period

Beacon 2009
Everyone has their favorites from this epic run, mine are 3/14 (Jazz night!) and 3/23 (the Kingpins!). 3/23 also includes a great "Little Martha>Blue Sky>Little Martha". You said you dig Clapton, so of the 2 Clapton shows, I'd go with the second, 3/21

Wanee 2011, Saturday Night
Taj Mahal sits in, I love this show. Crazy "Mountain Jam".

Beacon 3/21/2011 & 3/20/2012
A lot of people are down on the 2012 run since Gregg wasn't at 100% and the acoustic set didn't get as much love, but I really dig these shows. The 2011 show is probably better overall (includes a rare "Devil's Sea"), and if you dig horns, you'll love these shows.

Beacon October 28, 2014
The last show. You definitely need this one, powerful way for the band to go out, includes a great "Blue Sky", along with pretty much every thing else.

Thank you for sharing some of your favorites and recommendations, porkchopbob. This is very helpful information. Do you happen to know if this lineup ever did 'Layla' without Clapton? I'd be interested in hearing their take on it without EC.

The 9/25/04 Fox show has both Blue Sky and Layla.

The 9/25/04 Fox show has both Blue Sky and Layla.

Thank you, but unfortunately it looks like the munck-music.com website only has shows from 2007 to 2014. And the Instant Live Fox Box is $600 new and $287 used on Amazon.

Redfish - off this very site under Events - there's a drop down called Live Show Database. Check "search setlists" - and search away. You can't search multiple songs at once to find sets with song x,y,z but there are only 25ish some shows with a Layla and about the same number of post-Dickey Blue Sky versions. It doesn't take long to go through and find the setlists you like. I'm not sure there are shows between '07-'14 where both were played in the same set. You may have buy 2 shows to get them both!

[Edited on 10/7/2016 by slothrop8]

Redfish - off this very site under Events - there's a drop down called Live Show Database. Check "search setlists" - and search away. You can't search multiple songs at once to find sets with song x,y,z but there are only 25ish some shows with a Layla and about the same number of post-Dickey Blue Sky versions. It doesn't take long to go through and find the setlists you like. I'm not sure there are shows between '07-'14 where both were played in the same set. You may have buy 2 shows to get them both!

[Edited on 10/7/2016 by slothrop8]

Good to know...Thank you! I will do some searching...

No problem - a couple quick recommendations of my own to add to the list:

3/9/13 with saxophone player Bill Evans guesting is my favorite show from the last couple of years of the band

4/23/10 with Jack Pearson guesting on Liz Reed - the whole show is good - but the Liz Reed is phenomenal. As an aside - when I first got into the ABB - Jack had come and gone and shows from his era were not that easy to come by. It took me a long time to believe what some of the long term ABB fans were preaching about Jack - that guy is an absolute monster.

Anything from '09. The Beacon run is incredible - and the Summer and Fall tours are just as good. A lot of co-bill shows with WSP - so lots of Jimmy Herring sit-ins all year long. Fall Tour also has Bruce Katz on keys as Greg was recovering from an injury and wasn't handling keyboards by himself. If you listen to as much ABB as I do - it's nice to have some shows without the exact same keyboard solos note for note in every song. I love Gregg - but an improviser he is not...

Happy searching - hope you find something you like.

I was at the 2004 Atlanta run as well as the 2009 shows with Clapton at The Beacon. If you can find the Atlanta ones at a reasonable price I would go with those. I didn't think the second night with Clapton was all that great. He kind of seemed somewhat lost to me and they played basically the same setlist.

8/09/03 has my favorite Layla

10/01/04 has an awesome Blue Sky with Gregg on vocals
3/05/13 has an awesome Blue Sky with Warren on vocals

7/26/03 has a Dreams > In Memory of Elizabeth Reed that may well be the highlight of this version of the band.

A word of caution on the Fox Box. The mix on the original version is subpar. The bass is very muddy. Perhaps they have remixed since? I also recommend 8/9/03, 7/24/05, 8/19/05, and 4/16/11. Many of the shows from the Beacon and summer 2009 are also terrific

A word of caution on the Fox Box. The mix on the original version is subpar. The bass is very muddy. Perhaps they have remixed since? I also recommend 8/9/03, 7/24/05, 8/19/05, and 4/16/11. Many of the shows from the Beacon and summer 2009 are also terrific

Regarding the Fox, you must have more discerning ears than me. I'm no expert on such things. But I bought all of them when I was there and they sound really good to me.

Pretty well all the Fall '04 shows have a weird, subpar mix and sound. Sad but true. They still sound good - just not as good as most of the rest of the Instant Lives.

In what year did they start doing the Instant Live releases? The munck-music.com website doesn't have anything prior to 2007, so it seems like there are some years missing on there. Amazon has a few, but usually way over priced.

I'm about ready to pull the trigger on my first purchase from munck-music.com. Do they typically have good service, fast delivery times, etc.?

I have it narrowed down to the 3/5/13 or 3/15/13 shows. Both of these have a great version of Blue Sky (IMHO), which is my main reason for purchasing one of these shows. I actually prefer the Blue Sky on 3/5, but I think the overall set list is better on 3/15...tough decision. And I'm actually not all that crazy about horns (the Juke Horns guest on 3/5). Any one have any comments on either one of these shows...good? bad?

Thanks!

ebay has a bunch..... I would watch it for a few weeks if looking for a hard to find show..

In what year did they start doing the Instant Live releases? The munck-music.com website doesn't have anything prior to 2007, so it seems like there are some years missing on there.

Summer 2003 tour was the first appearance of the Instant Lives. Even Dickey Betts & Great Southern tried Instant Live once in 2004.

Blue sky 3/15/13
Liz Reed 3/20/2009 (with Clapton)
Liz Reed 3/20/2010 (with Bill Evans)
Some other stellar Beacon cuts
Stormy Monday 3/12/11
That's What Love Will Make You Do 3/17/12
Franklins Tower 3/21/14 (without Gregg)
You Don't Love Me 3/20/10 United Palace

Two shows I would recommend purchasing are the 3/20/10 show at the United Palace (Beacon booked) and the 3/20/09 show withClapton. The 3/21/14 show is without Gregg but the band sounds unleashed. If you like the Dead there is a stellar version of Franklins Tower with Oteil on vocals and Bill Evans on sax. Susan joins on vocals at the end.

So I just purchased my first show (3/15/13) from Munck Music. I got the MP3 download rather than the CD. It is downloaded on my PC...but apparently I am more technologically challenged than I realized because I can't figure out how to listen to it, nor can I figure out how to get it into my iTunes library. I've done searches on the internet and found instructions, but nothing seems to work. Any suggestions for an easy way to get the file/folder unzipped and into my iTunes library?

Thank you!

In your "Downloads" folder, just right-click on the zipped file. The menu will have an option for "Extract All Files", select it. It will ask you where to put it, but if you just click "Continue" or "Extract" or "Open", whatever your particular PC says, it will go to a new folder with the same name - but unzipped. From there, you can load it into your iTunes.

In your "Downloads" folder, just right-click on the zipped file. The menu will have an option for "Extract All Files", select it. It will ask you where to put it, but if you just click "Continue" or "Extract" or "Open", whatever your particular PC says, it will go to a new folder with the same name - but unzipped. From there, you can load it into your iTunes.

Got it...thank you!

So...I absolutely love the 3/15/13 show that I downloaded from MunckMusic! I realize that I am extremely late to the party and regret that I missed seeing them live. And I realize that I have barely even scratched the surface of the vast amount of music that is available from the Derek/Warren era. I've been doing a lot of researching on this website, reading reviews of the many Beacon runs and other shows, etc. Heck, the show I downloaded doesn't even get mentioned all that much in the "best show" discussions...I picked it primarily because I liked the version of Blue Sky on it...so if the first show I have is only average then I can't wait to hear some of the ones that are mentioned a lot in the "best show" discussions. I appreciate all the great feedback/info. This website is an invaluable resource for folks wanting to explore the ABB in depth.

Get the final show Redfish.

There is a question I've been wondering about for a long time... When did the Oteile introduction to "Rocking Horse" first appear? I've been trying to track it down through my Instant Lives with no luck.

Anyone know?

Instant Live of Wanee Festival, 4-13-2007 is a personal favorite of mine, and I was there. Opens with a scorching hot Les Brers In A Minor, best version I have EVER heard, and the show just does not let up for 2-1/2 hours. I highly recommend this one.

As much as I respect Warren, Derek and Otiel, this line up (and any other line up) does not match the original band. Maybe it was because everybody was young and in good health despite the drug use, but the energy, originality, level of playing IS the high water mark for the ABB. Well the original band IS the Allman Brothers in every way you look at it. All other line ups it trying to pay homage to the original lineup and keep the band fresh. But NONE equaled the original.

Put on Fillmore East or the live cuts from Eat a Peach and compare that to ANY thing from this line up.... even on One Way Out the album or Wipe the Windows or An Evening With 1st and 2nd sets and instantly you see the original band had fire, energy and a groove that tops the Warren, Derek line up and any other. And that is big talk because the Warren/Derek and the Jack/Dickey and the Warren/Dickey and the Dickey/Chuck line ups are better than most bands.

Yes for you young ABB fans who don't remember the original band, they WERE that good. The ABSOLUTE high water mark for ANY version of the Allman Brothers.

The Warren/Derek line up NEVER equaled the Liz Reed on Fillmore. Never equaled the One Way Out or the Trouble No More that is on Eat a Peach or equaled the Blue Sky that the original line up does on that live set on the archive S.O.N.Y.brook set.

Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Gregg Allman, Butch Truck and Jaimoe IS the real deal Allman Brothers!!

It's a shame Duane and Berry got killed and Dickey became a shell of himself. And you can say the same in a way about Gregg.

If they had lived and Dickey and Gregg stayed off the dope and booze, the original band may still be together. All senior citizens and probably not what they used to be. But they would be the Allman Brothers Band. Not any of the later lineups.

Sort of a official release (professionally recorded anyway), Then Again Live - Eat A Peach from 2004:
https://allmanbrothersband.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=XForum&file=viewthread&tid=68515

As much as I respect Warren, Derek and Otiel, this line up (and any other line up) does not match the original band. Maybe it was because everybody was young and in good health despite the drug use, but the energy, originality, level of playing IS the high water mark for the ABB. Well the original band IS the Allman Brothers in every way you look at it. All other line ups it trying to pay homage to the original lineup and keep the band fresh. But NONE equaled the original.

Put on Fillmore East or the live cuts from Eat a Peach and compare that to ANY thing from this line up.... even on One Way Out the album or Wipe the Windows or An Evening With 1st and 2nd sets and instantly you see the original band had fire, energy and a groove that tops the Warren, Derek line up and any other. And that is big talk because the Warren/Derek and the Jack/Dickey and the Warren/Dickey and the Dickey/Chuck line ups are better than most bands.

Yes for you young ABB fans who don't remember the original band, they WERE that good. The ABSOLUTE high water mark for ANY version of the Allman Brothers.

The Warren/Derek line up NEVER equaled the Liz Reed on Fillmore. Never equaled the One Way Out or the Trouble No More that is on Eat a Peach or equaled the Blue Sky that the original line up does on that live set on the archive S.O.N.Y.brook set.

Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Gregg Allman, Butch Truck and Jaimoe IS the real deal Allman Brothers!!

It's a shame Duane and Berry got killed and Dickey became a shell of himself. And you can say the same in a way about Gregg.

If they had lived and Dickey and Gregg stayed off the dope and booze, the original band may still be together. All senior citizens and probably not what they used to be. But they would be the Allman Brothers Band. Not any of the later lineups.

No one is saying that the Derek/Warren lineup (or any other lineup) could match the original lineup with Duane and Dickey. But I do disagree with you on one point…I think Derek and Warren have done much more than just pay homage to the original lineup. I think they have actually added to the legacy of the ABB, and created some great original music of their own…”Hittin’ the Note” is a great album. And they have had some pretty legendary shows of their own at the Beacon. Sure…Duane and Dickey laid the foundation and established the high water mark, I agree…but the other lineups have made some great music as well. For me it’s not a contest to determine which lineup is better than the other. With the exception of the two duds they made in the early 80’s, I enjoy every album and every lineup. It’s all good to my ears.

P.S. I’m 48 years old…so not exactly one of those “young ABB fans” that you mentioned. But I will admit that I wasted a lot of years listening to inferior music. It took me a while to see the light and realize what a great band this is. So I am somewhat of a latecomer to the ABB party. But maybe that’s why I have such a different perspective on it than some of the folks who have been fans since the early days. I am able to see the big picture…and enjoy the entire evolution from Duane to Derek…without feeling the need to have some sentimental attachment or loyalty to a particular lineup. And besides…I can’t find any Duane/Dickey era concerts on MunckMusic…
😉

[Edited on 10/17/2016 by Redfish7]