Guest Book

"Better to burn out than to fade away" Been running that lyric through my mind a bunch the last day or so. Just coming off a "burn out" weekend, that's for sure! 🙂 🙂 Looks like a long, rambling, chain-of-conciousness post coming, be warned! October 30, 1971. I come in from fishing with my friend Johnny Wiemann, his wife Susan runs up to the car in tears. With the news that Duane Allman had died. Johnny and Susan had seen the original band the year before, in Jacksonville, Ala. They have been divorced for a number of years now, and Susan has started going to some shows with me. After dealing with terrible, stressful, Atlanta rush hour traffic, we arrived late. But made it a priority to go to the cemetery. I didn't tell Susan in advance, just drove up and got out of the car. Was hoping that Candace just might be there, so I could say something about her husband's passing. Seemed a lot longer walk up the hill this time. I won't try to mention all the folks we saw in Macon, I would surely leave some out. But everywhere we were, we were with friends. We found the Rookery, then found what seemed to be a logical park. Met Wayne, Willie, Chitown, saw a bunch of old friends. Started toward Helen's room at the hotel, but bailed to the venue when we realized how far it was. And that turned out to be some kind of GB homecoming! No way in the world to name everybody. Almost like a Sweeties Party! A fun show, highlighted by Jackie P.'s appearance. Jack seems to get better every time I hear him. If that's possible. Did my heart good to see Tommy Talton guest on All My Friends, and to have him in the encore. Spoke with Scott in B'ham last week about his trip to the Beacon, and about the ABB including All My Friends in the rotation. He smiled, and seemed to enjoy talking to someone about it. The gig at Grant's was off the charts. My first real listening to Caroline Aiken, and I was most impressed. A true blues artist, along the lines of Susan T. and Donna Hopkins. Very talented! I get to see the Lefty Collins Band fairly often, and they always deliver. I thought they were particularly "on" at this show, and was glad Jon Player got some exposure. He has few peers at his instrument. At any level. Jimmy Henderson showed his professionalism as various guests joined in. Chris Hicks was outstanding. Excellent blues jamming. And quite a complement to the guitar styles of Lefty and Tommy. A really nice 3-way fit. And I really enjoyed watching the hands of Paul Hornsby, whose playing I've come to really respect, especially through the CRS disc, and several live shows. The whole ensemble was really tight, really professional, really fun. When we left, it was raining. And the random parking place we had selected turned out to be right across the street! Spotted Big 6 and Lynn, gave them a ride back to the hotel, where we spotted Claude Trucks (or someone who looks an awfully lot like him!) hanging out front. Then off into the rainy ride back, getting home at 5 Alabama time. Four hours of sleep and back at it again. Rain and storms on the way to Huntsville, but into Humphrey's safe and sound. Dinner with Rusty and Donna, then on to the show. Folks, I gotta' say, this was, IMHO, the best Allman Brothers Band show I've ever seen. Hard not to run on and on about it. A blues show. With tremendous enthusiasm by the audience, that carried over to the band. Gregg was easily the best I've seen him since at least the Birmingham Jam....perhaps ever. Enthusiastic at the keys, hitting every cue with precision. I was 8 rows in front of him, and paid special attention to what he was doing underneath the band, especially when he was holding down the pocket. If he missed anything all night, I didn't catch it. Warren was featured prominently, and although Derek's foot was injured, his hands and his heart were not affected. This was the greatest band ever, playing to perfection. The band really picked up on the crowd, and it was fun watching their faces as they watched the fans. At the very end, after the encore, Butch and Marc were the last onstage, and did a big high five, their faces in big grins. They knew they killed this show. My previous #1 was also in Huntsville, the 9/24/00 show. The Herring show. When I heard the show I had envisioned in my dreams since 1973. Seeing a dream actually happen. And my favorite experience with the band will always be 3/21/03, my first Beacon. My first full immersion in this family that is now a part of me. Pretty good music that night too! 😀 Nice to meet BrockLane, Oldnslo, and Crazy Joe and his son. And to see StickT again. AtlBarb was at both shows, didn't know it was her birthday, but got in a hug in Macon anyway! 🙂 The gig at the Voodoo Lounge was pretty cool too. Packed house, really young clientele, many of whom had been at the show. Comments like "best ever," "best I've ever seen," "I didn't know it would be like that!" The Travis Posey Band plays the music we love. And after 2 shows and the Macon afterparty, I was still loving every minute. The crowd was very enthusiastic too. I love watching people hear Brent play for the first time. Reminded me of the last Sweeties party in New York. I made it till 1:30, pretty well shot, and facing a 90-mile drive. Which went well till we got near the town of Albertville. U.S 431 was roadblocked because of storm damage, which we later found out was quite severe. So we had to retrace our steps and take a different route. Home at 4 AM, spent Sunday on the couch. Words cannot express the joy this band and it's core fans have brought to my world over the last 12 years. Thinking back to when Susan told us about Duane's passing, then Berry, then all the ups and downs in their world. And in mine. The music has always been there, been at the core. Although times and faces change. Gives me joy, gives me hope. May the road go on forever. eapfp