Guest Book

Hey there sweet family, A Review-O-Rama that KD just submitted to the Reviews section: Back to reality today after two amazing shows at the Casino Rama theatre in beautiful Orillia Ontario. Based on the fact these two shows were to start the summer run, there is both excitement at the fact and wonder as to how the Bros. will reconnect after a few months away from each other. Well after two incredible nights I can say with confidence that the boys are tight, smilin’ and rockin’ like they have been playing together everyday. The venue was great from the perspective of sound quality and layout. Both nights I’d say around 2500 to 3000 as the upper mezz was closed. Down side to many out there was the no smoke or drink in the theatre and the casino ticket comp thing. Last nights crowd was better noise wise than Tuesday and it really depended on where you were sitting. I stood and both nights rockin’ and rollin’ along as did many others around the front, which was available to those who made the trek up there. Last night we were second row dead centre (versus 8th row dead centre Tues) and we were oblivious to anything behind us. The party where we were was great! Ya make it what it is as we took care of business prior and had a blast! Tuesday’s show opened fittingly with Don’t Want You No More and Cross to Bear. Start of the tour and right back to the start of it all! It took a couple of tunes to get the ball rolling but once they got it they never looked back. Greg was in great voice and he looked real relaxed and comfortable. Warren was incredible considering he had just gotten back from Asia a day previous. You’d never know it. Derek, I know I say it every time, but the man continues to just blow my mind. His playing is so intricate, fluid and subtle it’s just simply stunning to watch him. The highlights, IMO were a killer version of When the Sky is Crying and Good Morning Little School Girl. JaBuMa with Oteil sitting in was also very cool. The Bros. finished the night with Jessica and then One Way Out for the encore. We ran into Derek in the casino much later that night and had a great chat with him. He is such a down to earth guy. It’s the second time I have met him in the last couple of years and I am continually impressed with his personality. Of course we couldn’t help but offer some suggestions for the Wed night show to which he was quite agreeable mentioning that before the end of the summer they would cover most of the catalog. Great opener for the summer tour! Last night however, IMO blew away Tuesday’s show. The feel up on stage was one of comfort and fun from what I saw. Opening with Melissa was incredible and after 50 plus shows in the bank I can’t ever remember that tune as an opener. I kinda liken it to a real long break versus the “we’ll be back after a short break”. Melissa was the start of the second set! The show was pretty much Derek and Warren cutting heads for the entire evening. The guitar work by both was incredible to watch from where we were and was simply mesmerizing at certain points throughout the show. The entire band was far more laid back and looked to be really enjoying themselves (more relaxed, won a little at the casino, back with your buds for a month could be any or all of the above). Playing Derek and the Domino’s, Why Does Love Have to Be So Sad and then into Franklin’s Tower for JG’s 65th sung flawlessly by Oteil. Stormy Monday was a huge Gregg highlight, great voice again last night (he was drinking something hot most of the night). A real hair raising point in the show was N1TRW. Great long version of the tune, but the highlight for me was the video behind the stage showing clips of Duane, Berry and Woody while all were jamming away. Hair on end! Liz Reed clocked in at just over 25 minutes with JaBuMa Ot in the middle. Jaimoe and Oteil were standouts and Butch gave his old buddy some big props after they had finished. Revival was the encore and sung by the better part of the crowd at Warren’s urging and simply brought the house down. The boys stayed around after the show and signed a bunch of stuff and chatted a little. This show was a pickin’ and grinnin’ Allman Brothers jam session. Everyone was smilin, they were all chattin’ it up throughout the evening and having fun! IMO, this was “An Evening With” in two evenings. Four hours of music, 27 tunes, no repeats including the drum solo which was totally different both nights. The only slight for me was no Whipping Post or Dreams, but it doesn’t change my 5 stars on these two masterful performances! Great to see the Bros. back in the saddle and I am already looking forward to Darien later this month. Set lists below. Cheers, KD ### :clapping:Thanks for sharing, KD!:clapping: Take care and know that you are loved, Lana