Guest Book

Happy Birthday Wharfy!!! Enjoy Brudda! Great seeing you Saturday night... Well...First off a BIG thank you to everyone that was responsible for the Beacon Hotel party and jam session last night! It was really fun and the turnout was amazing! These parties get bigger and BIGGER every year. Everything was really well done...I saw many old friends and met quite a few new ones as well. I got a chance to jam with some of the boys - lots of fun - we played "Liz Reed" with 4 guitars LOL! Thanks to all - I am honored to call you guys my friends! A special thanks to Gary, aka Peachnutt for hooking me up with an orchestra ticket before showtime. We had a great time inside having some deep ABB discussions...Thank you Gary! Now on to THE show. In the 2nd set we got to see IMO one of the truly great performances in recent memory. The first set was very solid as well with some cool guests like Susan T and Little Milton. A first set hightlight for me was The best version of "Every Hungy Woman" I've heard - just killer! - Derek and Warren taking this one to new levels unheard of from that song before. End Of The Line" was really tight as well as the "Hot 'Lanta" opener and "Done Somebody Wrong"... ...Now the second set was where the REAL magic was - and I mean magic of Epic proportions! This was IMO a set for the ages where many musical ^summits^ were reached and conquered like only this band can. As was the norm for this run Gregg started it out solo on the baby grand piano - just chilling vocals. He sounded as pure and sincere singing that way as he possibly could - his vocals were clear as a bell and his playing was picure perfect. "Please Call Home" was a joy to hear that way as was "Oncoming Traffic". Right then I decided to run down closer from my seat in the back of the orchestra to get a better view. I then found a seat in the 9th row almost dead center. For some reason this seat remained open and I was more than happy to fill it up for as long as I could - the whole 2nd set as it turned out. I was about 10 feet away from BIG Bill Walton who looked like he was 8 feet tall! I stood next to him for a moment earlier and I looked like I was 5 years old standing next to him. He was really diggin' the show big time, high-fiving folks in the crowd. Anyway, seeing Gregg and Warren sing "These Days" acoustically from that close was something that can't be described - you just needed to be there to hear how amazing this moment was. I had a feeling the second set would be really good but nobody could of predicted what followed. The band sort of noodled for a minute or so but clearly we knew what was coming and then, they eased their way into "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed". I saw Ron Holloway w/ sax enter stage right just next to Oteil so then I got really pumped. Right from the start this song had a "pulse" that was somewhere "in between time and space" - it felt almost surreal to hear and feel how beautifully the band led into the theme. Ron Holloway played a nice jazzed-out solo that just really fit the mood. When it was Dereks turn I kind of felt we were gonna get something beyond good but I gotta say Derek absolutely, positively ripped this incendiary solo that was easily one of the best single solo's I've heard from Derek to date! I thought Derek might (((explode))) and then literally he DID...and so did the crowd. WE applauded long and loud because the kid played something that quite possibly no one ever had before. Derek has truly reached the "pinnacle" - at this young an age he already can be called a master of his instrument. The kid is a freakin' wizard! Next, Warren soloed and then went back and forth with Ron Holloway - playing off eachother like they have been doing it for years.This LIz Reed went on for 40+ minutes and all of it was the played like it was the last song of their lives. The Drum segment was more like a percussion symphony than a drum solo. No wonder Butch dislikes that word - this was much more that a drum solo - they were making music. After Drums we got Oteil of course and then if all this wasn't yet enough we also got Kofi on flute alongside his his Brother - Butch was still playing - and then Derek joined in yet again. Over 40 minutes after it began one of the greatest ever "Liz Reed's" came to a conclusion. We were already satisfied but there was MUCH more to go. We then got a mind blowing almost 15 minute "Dreams" again with Ron Holloway on sax - it was only fitting that we got a Derek "Dreams" tonight - and another song truly worthy of "best ever" consideration. Next was "Rockin Horse" with Yonrico instead of Jaimoe which made the drum section feel even more powerful than it already is. This is Warren's song and he really smoked this one! Another KILLER song stretched way out.. This was my kind of set list - lots of improv. Next was "One Way Out" quick and to the point and then a super-powerful "Whipping Post" encore and the show was done leaving us completely drained. The show ended promptly at 12:00 Midnight, 3.5 hours after it began - It was the witching hour which was really fitting for this particular night. As Jerry Garcia once sang: "Thank You...For a real good time!" Thanks ABB and friends for making it a special night... Peace