Guest Book

Well, if you're gonna talk about the Rescue Unit boys, I'll come back out of lurk-mode. I too realize I'm in the minority, but I thought Jimmy/Derek were a great performing version of the ABB. Despite what most of the gripes were saying, I thought he brought a lot to the band, stylistically. I never heard him shred with the band, despite the criticisms of such (I don't think some people bothered to even listen to what he played, with the "situation" and all). But he came out swinging. . .the third show of the tour (Charlotte) was smoking. But by the end of the tour Jimmy was being even more himself, though still playing to fit the band. That last leg of the tour, including the Huntsville show that GreatSkaught mentioned, was a particular peak for the band. And not just for the summer, but a peak for a period over a couple years I thought. That being said, the problem with Derek and Jimmy in the ABB was neither were songwriters or singers. Marc did an admirable job stepping up to the mic to sing harmony, but didn't quite cut it. I would've loved to hear Jimmy and Warren play a few more shows together in the ABB. I think they would be great together in that context, as they are with Lesh's outfit. Jimmy's superb rhythm playing (Stand Back and AWTNM both sounded so cool with Jimmy's choice of rhythm voicings), Warren could handle slide, would get to still hear Warren's tunes, Jimmy's unbelievable takes on High Falls and Jessica (to name a few). Wow, what a treat that would be. Speaking of, when is Wintertime Blues 2 coming out? But that of course leads to another thing: would've hated to see Derek go. One positive side to the ABB's seemingly-constant changes over the last 6 years has been that we've been able to hear 5 of the greatest (in my estimation) living guitarists. Hate that any of them left, or were forced to leave. But the music has remained at a relatively constant high calibre through it all. It's been fun listening to what each guitarist has brought to the band (though stinks what they necessarily took with them when they left). Derek/Warren are fantastic together too, no doubt about that. So, I sit back and wait for them to do their thing, trusting it'll remain spectacular. They've earned that trust, at least in that regard. The music has remained top-game. Can't wait for this summer (or perhaps an Atlanta Fox Theatre run in September??). Well that being said, another subject altogether: there's an interview with Page talking about Vida Blue right here. Some nice words regarding Oteil. Drew