OK. As expected, Warren Haynes “called out” but C. Leavell sat in, and I’m familiar with Jack Pearson from the pre-Haynes days as well as his solo work and his session work so I figured the show had some promise.
Listen, I’ve been seeing the band since the early 70’s and I’ve seen just about every configuration imaginable(I grew up in NYC, made some of the Fillmore shows…drove up from NJ for this show) – I even saw them once in Copenhagen Denmark – so I’m not prone to gush over every facial expression, and how many times Jack smiled at Derek and what brand of shoe Oteil was wearing. Honestly, they weren’t all that good in the late 70’s/early 80’s. We’ve all read the papers from back then..the drug busts, the OD’s, the Cher “thing”, so I hesitate to call this show a throw-back to the 70’s.
Since Dickey left the band I’ve been wondering if I’d ever hear E.
Reed and Jessica live again (outside of a D. Betts concert) so it was fun/intersting to hear those songs tonight. Next I’d love to hear Blue Sky.
Honestly, I think the show got off to a slow start even though I felt that there was a better “chemistry” between Derek and Jack than with Derek and Warren. Going against common opinion, I don’t think the sax player added much to the show.
The way I saw it, the show heated up during the drum/bass solos and then into Southbound and Jessica (interesting 3 solo version..Chuck, Jack and Derek). The encore of Whipping Post was pretty good and I can describe Jack’s solos as “effortless screaming rock and roll’. He’s a smooth player with a great feel for the material.
What I really enjoyed about the show was that I was sitting next to a young lady who was at her first ABB concert. I envied her enthusiasm and was jelous at the fact the she had just “discovered” a “new band”.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to see the ABB at the Beacon last March but I’ve heard some tapes so I know they blew the doors off the place.
I’m heading back home tomorrow, and looking forward to seeing Dickey at BB King’s in NYC Thursday night.
As an aside; Moe was the opening act. My 15 year old step-daughter is a big Moe fan so I was expecting a teeny-bopper band, but they jammed the hell out of their set. It’s really nice to see a young band working their act.
