Opened with Jessica at Saratoga Springs in 2005. The rest of the show matched the intensity of the opener, even exceeded at times. Loved when they really started mixing up the set lists and throwing in surprises like Jessica as an opener

Having seen the ABB about 40 times I don't recall them ever starting with Jessica. That said, it would've been a great show, no where to be but up, or, it would've been a crappy show with no where to go but down. A difficult preposition. Lets just look at the perspective from a fan's standpoint. They usually play well. Or, on the other hand, from a musical standpoint, they went through the motions. Depends on your perspective. Mostly, I found the band, to be usually spot on, playing their asses off. Never, unfortunately, saw Duane play, but his influence dramatically influenced my life. Originally got turned on to Muddy and Elmore James, Duane took the music to a whole new level. Saw some of the last Beacon shows, Gregg in good voice, the players hiittin' the note. Will for ever be appreciative for the music that reached into my heart. Thank you!

Definitely the start of a good show. Sets the tone early..

Opened with Jessica at Saratoga Springs in 2005. The rest of the show matched the intensity of the opener, even exceeded at times. Loved when they really started mixing up the set lists and throwing in surprises like Jessica as an opener

I was at that show, Great night and they ended with an outstanding Layla. It was also the first time I heard Egypt, Derek almost blew the roof off of Spac during that song.

Opened with Jessica at Saratoga Springs in 2005. The rest of the show matched the intensity of the opener, even exceeded at times. Loved when they really started mixing up the set lists and throwing in surprises like Jessica as an opener

I was at that show, Great night and they ended with an outstanding Layla. It was also the first time I heard Egypt, Derek almost blew the roof off of Spac during that song.

I'd watch a documentary about the 2005 versions of Egypt. It wasn't quite the same when they brought it back later, still great but slightly subdued. The 2005 Egypts though should be enshrined in the Smithsonian.

the ABB opened with Jessica a lot in 1981. it's a real "can you top that one?" they always did!

I do recall seeing a show in the 90's in Las Vegas when they opened with Jessica too. Really took the place to another level right out of the chute

On the Feburary 1970 Fillmore show that is coming out they opened with In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. I have the 1997 CD so that is how I know. Duane says " We're going to start with an original composition by Dickey Betts". Its smoked from start to finished so at the end Duane says " We're going to play some tonight" And Berry says " Oh yeah".

Everytime I personally saw the original band they opened with Statesboro Blues.

I liked Egypt and Bag End.

Sadly though the Allman Brothers ended when Duane died. As good as other lineups were, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe both said there was an energy and creativity and spontaneity that stopped when Duane died and it never was there again. In 2015 Butch said he tried and tried to get the last lineup to let go and play like the original but Derek and Warren were too afraid they would make a mistake or cause a trainwreck so after a few years of playing in the last lineup Butch said he knew what they were going to do every night and it got boring. Not so with Duane and Dickey.

But you know when you don't see every show on a tour like a deadhead or the drummer, you don't notice that. Plus the great slide parts Duane did on Statesboro Blues sound about the same on other recording of the original lineup. And I've been listening to Fillmore East a few times a month for 47 years and it's so good that it's like the Mona Lisa. Don't change a thing.

December 16, 1981. What do ya think?

"Sadly though the Allman Brothers ended when Duane died. As good as other lineups were, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe both said there was an energy and creativity and spontaneity that stopped when Duane died and it never was there again. In 2015 Butch said he tried and tried to get the last lineup to let go and play like the original but Derek and Warren were too afraid they would make a mistake or cause a trainwreck so after a few years of playing in the last lineup Butch said he knew what they were going to do every night and it got boring. Not so with Duane and Dickey. "

While you are diligent in emphasizing this point, what's the point? i saw them in 1973 for the first time, and this was one smokin band. Anybody i ever knew who went to an ABB show for the first time AFTER Duane were blown away. While i could never argue about how great the original ABB were, it is a dis service to the surviving members who were great musicians and could cook like no other. Look at the 1981 show in this thread (considered by many to be their worst period) and even there, that band was amazin

Jonesy, sometimes people are unable to wrap their head around the concept of variety and sometimes, those same people believe their opinions to be superior over other people's. It is in those situations that you get what you have here. Someone repeatedly saying the same thing, over and over and over (even when it's not relevant to the conversation at all) for what you can only assume is to make themselves feel like they're educating people in portraying a subjective piece of information as fact. While completely ridiculous, it's actually become kind of fun to watch. It's become like Groundhog Day. My advice is to pop some popcorn and watch

Example: "What's that you say? Orange juice with no pulp is way better than orange juice with pulp??? That reminds me of how the Allman Brothers ended with the death of Duane Allman (insert random story acquired from a popular ABB biography that doesn't pertain to orange juice in the least)."

Does it really matter?...I mean, cool discussion point, but does it mater? During the '73 Tour, they opened with "Wasted Words" and those shows rocked. In '79, they opened with "Don't want you no more"....Yeah, their set-lists were predictable, but because I loved 'em they could have started of the show with "Whippin' Post" and the crowd would have gone nuts.

Opened with Jessica at Saratoga Springs in 2005. The rest of the show matched the intensity of the opener, even exceeded at times. Loved when they really started mixing up the set lists and throwing in surprises like Jessica as an opener

I was at that show, Great night and they ended with an outstanding Layla. It was also the first time I heard Egypt, Derek almost blew the roof off of Spac during that song.

This is just my opinion but I've never seen a good Live version of Layla (or Blue Sky).

You can't improve on perfection.

Glad you really enjoyed it.

On the Feburary 1970 Fillmore show that is coming out they opened with In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. I have the 1997 CD so that is how I know. Duane says " We're going to start with an original composition by Dickey Betts". Its smoked from start to finished so at the end Duane says " We're going to play some tonight" And Berry says " Oh yeah".

Everytime I personally saw the original band they opened with Statesboro Blues.

I liked Egypt and Bag End.

Sadly though the Allman Brothers ended when Duane died. As good as other lineups were, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe both said there was an energy and creativity and spontaneity that stopped when Duane died and it never was there again. In 2015 Butch said he tried and tried to get the last lineup to let go and play like the original but Derek and Warren were too afraid they would make a mistake or cause a trainwreck so after a few years of playing in the last lineup Butch said he knew what they were going to do every night and it got boring. Not so with Duane and Dickey.

But you know when you don't see every show on a tour like a deadhead or the drummer, you don't notice that. Plus the great slide parts Duane did on Statesboro Blues sound about the same on other recording of the original lineup. And I've been listening to Fillmore East a few times a month for 47 years and it's so good that it's like the Mona Lisa. Don't change a thing.

You should change your tag line to either "Beating a Dead Horse" or "Wet Blanket". Both would apply. 😉

But to the title of the thread, I've seen the ABB 82 times I think and I'm pretty sure they never opened with Jessica at the shows I saw but I think it would be a really cool opener. Better than a closer IMO. Nice way to get the party started and the crowd up and jumping.

The Jessica opener from 1981 was hot Jonsey. No Jaimoe then as he had been fired (voted out) and Butch Trucks has slammed this version of the band several times. Butch said the chemistry wasn't right at all. And that he regretted jointing Gregg and Dickey to vote Jaimoe out the second show they did without Jaimoe. Said David Toler was in the way and when he started to play something Toler was already playing it. So I don't completely understand Butch's complaint here as this is hot and Dickey is playing like only Dickey could back then. Nobody sounded like Dickey and his style, tone and attack was so unique and melodic.

But the vibe and the inspiration Butch and the others were feeding off of clearly was Duane and when he died it was never the same for Butch and Jaimoe.

Maybe they should have altered their name after Duane died like the Grateful Dead did after Jerry Garcia died to avoid a direct comparison to Duane's band. Allman, Betts Band. The Brothers. Duane Allman's Brothers ???

Butch said they were really The Dickey Betts Band by the time they got to Brothers and Sisters.

But even my critics and detractors here have to admit when you play Fillmore and the live tracks on Eat A Peach, the Allman Brothers Band never sounded like that again. Butch was right.

All of the ABB lineups when having a good night were better than most bands out there for the kind of music we like. I agree with that and the proof is I saw the band dozens of times in all lineups. My point is the band was never as religious as it was when Duane was in it. Duane Allman just made everything better whether it be the Allman Brothers, the Layla album or Wilson Pickett's version of Hey Jude.

ABB opened with Jessica twice during the 2007 Beacon run , I caught the night Dave Mason , Leslie West and Luther Dickinson were guest , it was fun .

Does it really matter?...I mean, cool discussion point, but does it mater? During the '73 Tour, they opened with "Wasted Words" and those shows rocked. In '79, they opened with "Don't want you no more"....Yeah, their set-lists were predictable, but because I loved 'em they could have started of the show with "Whippin' Post" and the crowd would have gone nuts.

The ABB were hardly predictable. If you want predictable go to an Eagles show.

[Edited on 12/15/2018 by fender31]

If you want predictable go to an Eagles show.

Isn't that the truth.

The Jessica opener from 1981 was hot Jonsey. No Jaimoe then as he had been fired (voted out) and Butch Trucks has slammed this version of the band several times. Butch said the chemistry wasn't right at all. And that he regretted jointing Gregg and Dickey to vote Jaimoe out the second show they did without Jaimoe. Said David Toler was in the way and when he started to play something Toler was already playing it. So I don't completely understand Butch's complaint here as this is hot and Dickey is playing like only Dickey could back then. Nobody sounded like Dickey and his style, tone and attack was so unique and melodic.

But the vibe and the inspiration Butch and the others were feeding off of clearly was Duane and when he died it was never the same for Butch and Jaimoe.

Maybe they should have altered their name after Duane died like the Grateful Dead did after Jerry Garcia died to avoid a direct comparison to Duane's band. Allman, Betts Band. The Brothers. Duane Allman's Brothers ???

Butch said they were really The Dickey Betts Band by the time they got to Brothers and Sisters.

But even my critics and detractors here have to admit when you play Fillmore and the live tracks on Eat A Peach, the Allman Brothers Band never sounded like that again. Butch was right.

All of the ABB lineups when having a good night were better than most bands out there for the kind of music we like. I agree with that and the proof is I saw the band dozens of times in all lineups. My point is the band was never as religious as it was when Duane was in it. Duane Allman just made everything better whether it be the Allman Brothers, the Layla album or Wilson Pickett's version of Hey Jude.

Get a kick out of your posts and loyalty to the original band. I loved all periods of the band except early 80's but the Duane era was clearly #1.

[Edited on 12/15/2018 by DeadMallard]

saw them in 1973 for the first time, and this was one smokin band

Same here!

On the Feburary 1970 Fillmore show that is coming out they opened with In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. I have the 1997 CD so that is how I know. Duane says " We're going to start with an original composition by Dickey Betts". Its smoked from start to finished so at the end Duane says " We're going to play some tonight" And Berry says " Oh yeah".

Everytime I personally saw the original band they opened with Statesboro Blues.

I liked Egypt and Bag End.

Sadly though the Allman Brothers ended when Duane died. As good as other lineups were, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe both said there was an energy and creativity and spontaneity that stopped when Duane died and it never was there again. In 2015 Butch said he tried and tried to get the last lineup to let go and play like the original but Derek and Warren were too afraid they would make a mistake or cause a trainwreck so after a few years of playing in the last lineup Butch said he knew what they were going to do every night and it got boring. Not so with Duane and Dickey.

But you know when you don't see every show on a tour like a deadhead or the drummer, you don't notice that. Plus the great slide parts Duane did on Statesboro Blues sound about the same on other recording of the original lineup. And I've been listening to Fillmore East a few times a month for 47 years and it's so good that it's like the Mona Lisa. Don't change a thing.

You really need a new setlist grandpa. You live in an imaginary world and you are a collossol bore.

December 16, 1981. What do ya think?

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Watched/listened to the entire show. Get rid of the "keytar" and this is 'A' material. Both Dickey's and Dangerous Dan's playing is off the hook. And David Goldflies can pound it out on bass. They even do a nice job on the less than iconic "Brothers of the Road" songs. Female backup singers fit in nicely when utilized.

Tbomike. Imaginary world? No I have real copies of Fillmore East and Eat A Peach and they both sold over one million copies and Hitting the Note was less than 200,000 copies.

Apparently you think Derek and Warren topped Duane and Dickey. I have several instant live CDs from the last lineup and there isn't any Fillmore or Eat A Peach songs on them that top the original band. I mean NONE. I like Bag End, Egypt, Rocking Horse etc and the last lineup but it's not the real Allman Brothers to me. If you really want to have a Lynyrd Skynyrd moment do you put on something post Ronnie or post Jerry with the Dead or post Lowell George for Little Feet or post Toy with Marshall Tucker. I'm not saying later versions of any of those bands are no good. Most are very good but it's not like the original!!

In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, You Dont Love Me, Must Have Done Somebody Wrong, Stormy Monday, One Way Out etc on Eat A Peach and Fillmore East were NEVER topped by the last lineup or any other lineup. They are the high water mark for the ABB.

For me they were just never the same after Reese Wynans was replaced by Gregg. That first jam session with Reese, that was the real Allman Brothers Band. They never again recaptured that intensity and musicianship. Reese gave them a completely different musical ceiling than they had with Gregg who often played the same solos over and over and wasn’t a talented improviser. Butch Trucks often said that he knew right away during that first jam that was the best the band would ever be, they’d never be that good again and it was all down hill from there. Butch often said that the record company wanted Gregg to put a salami in his pants on stage which really limited his freedom of movement, while Reese Wynans was able to play much more freely, unencumbered by crotch salami. The best versions of those jams ever came from that first rehearsal, Jam 1, Jam 2, Jam 3 - those first version were never equaled by any later lineup - they all lacked the intensity and creativity of the true Allman Wynans Band.

[Edited on 12/15/2018 by slothrop8]

Salami. Hahaha!

On the Feburary 1970 Fillmore show that is coming out they opened with In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. I have the 1997 CD so that is how I know. Duane says " We're going to start with an original composition by Dickey Betts". Its smoked from start to finished so at the end Duane says " We're going to play some tonight" And Berry says " Oh yeah".

Everytime I personally saw the original band they opened with Statesboro Blues.

I liked Egypt and Bag End.

Sadly though the Allman Brothers ended when Duane died. As good as other lineups were, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe both said there was an energy and creativity and spontaneity that stopped when Duane died and it never was there again. In 2015 Butch said he tried and tried to get the last lineup to let go and play like the original but Derek and Warren were too afraid they would make a mistake or cause a trainwreck so after a few years of playing in the last lineup Butch said he knew what they were going to do every night and it got boring. Not so with Duane and Dickey.

But you know when you don't see every show on a tour like a deadhead or the drummer, you don't notice that. Plus the great slide parts Duane did on Statesboro Blues sound about the same on other recording of the original lineup. And I've been listening to Fillmore East a few times a month for 47 years and it's so good that it's like the Mona Lisa. Don't change a thing.

You really need a new setlist grandpa. You live in an imaginary world and you are a collossol bore.

You're a DICK

[Edited on 12/16/2018 by DeadMallard]

For me they were just never the same after Reese Wynans was replaced by Gregg. That first jam session with Reese, that was the real Allman Brothers Band. They never again recaptured that intensity and musicianship. Reese gave them a completely different musical ceiling than they had with Gregg who often played the same solos over and over and wasn’t a talented improviser. Butch Trucks often said that he knew right away during that first jam that was the best the band would ever be, they’d never be that good again and it was all down hill from there. Butch often said that the record company wanted Gregg to put a salami in his pants on stage which really limited his freedom of movement, while Reese Wynans was able to play much more freely, unencumbered by crotch salami. The best versions of those jams ever came from that first rehearsal, Jam 1, Jam 2, Jam 3 - those first version were never equaled by any later lineup - they all lacked the intensity and creativity of the true Allman Wynans Band.

A+.

Sadly though the Allman Brothers ended when Duane died. As good as other lineups were, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe both said there was an energy and creativity and spontaneity that stopped when Duane died and it never was there again.

Gregg disagreed.

In 2015 Butch said he tried and tried to get the last lineup to let go and play like the original but Derek and Warren were too afraid they would make a mistake or cause a trainwreck so after a few years of playing in the last lineup Butch said he knew what they were going to do every night and it got boring. Not so with Duane and Dickey.

Butch said, Butch said, Butch said......a lot about what Butch said. We all know what happened to Butch. I recommend you consider the opinions of other members in the band that didn’t have a mental illness. They might be a better source of information.

I for one would love to hear Reese's recollections of that epic March 1969 jam in Jacksonville (trusting Mr. Wynans is still with us, I do hope) when Duane said, anyone who isn't....fight your way out" -- have never read any take by Dickey about it either, maybe tonite on that Rather show --

when the ABB opened w/Jessica it must have been epic
Mtn Jam seldom got more love than when they opened w/It, then Went Off! on a jazz run w/Afro Blue & other straight ahead jazz playing before returning to where that Amazing, Epic (Mtn.) Jam began (Great Woods 2004) -- it would've made Rashan Roland Kirk real proud -- the whole show is top-flight -- Musicians Locked In

[Edited on 12/18/2018 by Stephen]