Guest Book

Thoughts on last night in Indy; first of all, I purposely set the bar high by listening to the 3/18 Beacon show on the way up. That in my 33 years of ABB is the top show of all time (at least of those I remember) and it did set me in the right mood for the night. Drove up by myself so it was cranked up real loud. And this was a last minute decision to actually go to the show. By the way, Great Scott, was that trooper around 3:30 about 2 miles over the Mason-Dixon line? He had his door open and gunning for folks as he sat leaning out. I actually saw the his lights come on and thought "caught". Sorry he got you but glad it didn't ruin your night. For the most part, the show was stellar. There were a number of highlights beginning with dTb. The band was tight as usual and Key to the Highway and Blind, Crippled and Crazy were standouts. The only shame was that more people didn't pay attention. ABB jumped right into it with a burning Statesboro that had me on my feet from the get go. Maydell and Who to Believe back to back were extremely tight. This version of Wasted Words was the best I've heard that song in a long time. 44 Blues was the A+ of the evening. It was as blue and funky as it comes. I now think it should be a staple of every show. Warren does right by blues standards. The next few songs were all good but nothing really stood out. I agree that the mix was a little off where I sat (stood), down left of the board a few yards. Black Hearted Woman started off what was to be a tremendous triple play to end the night. The band continued to build and build throughout Black leading into the obligatory 15 minute drum solo. I must say that this was the diappointment of the evening. I am usually attuned to the solos but last night's didn't move me. Seemd to lacking the spark of others (how about that for musical knowledge?!). They absolutely tore down on Jessica. Warren and Derek were on fire and Oteil filled in the blanks. The show could have stopped right after Jessica and I would have gone home satisfied. But they came out and put the finishing touches on a very good night of music with One Way Out. The crowd was a good size and folks were into the music. Very good vibes all evening. The venue, while pretty decent to see a show suffered in the amenities. Only two tents for drinks and not enough folks serving. Definitely not enough vendors for the size of the crowd. A real good night. It didn't reach the bar of the 3/18 show but I realistically don't expect to see that again. Still damned amazing that this band goes out and gives you your money's worth night in and night out for a fraction of the cost of some other big names. The ABB is the best bargain going these days.