Did it ever actually rain Friday night? I ended up wetter than I did at the Dead/Dylan show last Thursday, even though I had seats in the covered area. The amphitheater staff didn’t turn the ceiling fans on until about halfway through the show, so it got pretty humid under the awning.
Anyway, the show was fantastic. Great music starting with Bluestring (two great sets in the food court area), then with Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and of course the ABB. Just great, great stuff.
I really enjoyed meeting a few of y’all. I was hoping to get to know everybody a little better, but the combination of temporary deafness (a gift from Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe) and the residual effects of a recent meeting with my friend, Bud Green (I could barely feel my legs under my ass!) placed restrictions on the coherence of any conversation that I might have had. I had planned to introduce ol’ Bud to a few of y’all, but some folks just don’t know what to make of him. Truth is, he even offends some. Oh well.
Donna had a blast. She enjoyed meeting and talking with a few of y’all, especially Reed, Patrick and a couple of others whose names I’d remember if I had put actual names (as opposed to web handles) on those stoopid-ass, gay lookin’ name tags! Sorry about that!
Oh, let’s see … oh yeah, the show! There wasn’t a lull moment all night as far as I was concerned. Karl Denson’s band just blows me away every time I see them. The next time I see a “Top 10 Favorite Guitar Player” thread, I’m going to have to remember to put Brian Jordan’s name in there. The guy is just amazing! I’ve already got “Hittin’ the Note”, so I went out Saturday morning and picked up everything that I could find by Karl Denson. We were sitting way off to the stage-left side, from where we could see Susan, Derek and the bambino (Charlie?) watching Karl and company from the wings. Such a Kodak moment! But alas, there are no cameras allowed in the venue.
Okay, the Allman Brothers band. What a set list! This show was made in heaven! The band must be getting better by the week. “Hot ‘Lanta” was the perfect opener. From there, “Statesboro …”, which is usually (often, at least) played as an encore, just lit an extra fuse under the band an audience. This show was better (to me, my opinion) that the Beacon show that I attended. I thought everybody in the band was just in perfect form. At the Beacon, Jaimoe seemed to be in a little discomfort, but Friday night he was just poundin’ away at ‘em! I was seated in an ideal area to appreciate the percussive interplay between Jaimoe, Butch and Marc. “Midnight Rider” has become as much a focal point for the harmony vocals as the guitar playing. Crosby, Stills and Nash eat your hearts out! “Desdemona” was everything (and more) that I had hoped it would be. I really enjoyed seeing Vaylor Trucks up there during “Southbound”. I saw Vaylor sit in at the last Birmingham show. He just keeps on gettin’ mo better!
And “Mountain Jam”! I think the band has played this one at almost every show that I’ve been to, but I just love what they’ve done with it lately! There is indeed a nod to “Blue Sky” in there. Maybe it’s just me, but I see this as a sincere tribute to all that Dickie has meant to the band and the fans through the years. I guess the same could be said of the inclusion of “Elizabeth Reed”.
I have this strange thought, a dream really, that Warren and Eric Clapton where playing cards in a saloon somewhere in a dark corner of Hell. After taking E.C. for all of his cash, Warren made him sign over the deed to “Layla”. Well, maybe it didn’t go down like that, but Warren and the ABB SHOULD own this song. They’re playing it the way it needs to played. I like Eric’s sentimental “living room “ version, but maybe he should stick to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. At least for now.
Does anybody know what the attendance was? I’m not sure that there were as many people as were at the Dead show, but it was a loud crowd! The applause toward the end of the show sounded like a meteor shower on the tin-roof of the amphitheater.
For now, I feel like a child on the day after Christmas. Unless I get to catch them somewhere else, it’s going to be a long, long time until next year.
