Guest Book

D'oh! My bad! The Deepest End totally slipped my mind. Yes, that's great too. Interesting that the Beacon DVD and Deepest End are so different-- primarily because musicians shuttle on and off on the latter-- and both were shot by Michael Drumm, with Michael Barbiero doing the audio. So different, and both so good.

:birthday: Warren! Thanks for the music.

The Deepest End DVD ain't too shabby either - love the Dirty Dozen Brass Band on John the Revelator... :birthday: to all the birthday people - BigWindy, Nancy, Sari, Brofan, Southpaw, LittleMike, Warren, Berry, and anybody else I missed..... :birthday:

Thanks Rich, we also had a great time that night. Indigenous brings it to the table! Thanks for turning me on to them. For those of you that know Brofan for the walking musical encyclopedia that he is, you might find this amusing. We're standing there waiting for Indigenous to come on stage and these 2 guys are standing next to us. One of them turns to Rich and asks, "say do you know anything about the band coming on?" Rich gets this look in his eye, and I turn to my wife, laugh, and say Rich will be back to us in about 1/2 an hour!(lol) Believe me, those 2 guys walked out of that show experts on Indigenous! EAPFP

Been away for a few days so dont know if anyone brought this up or not. Have you all checked out the dates for the Dead. Its basically the whole summer. With Warren playing with them it looks as if the bulk of the ABB shows will be in the fall. Here is the link for the Dead shows. http://www.dead.net/thedead/2004/summer-tour/grid.html Some killer shows on tap for them as well. 7/3 The Gorge w/ the ABB!!!!

Boy, when I decided to become active in the Guest Book, I had no idea it would be a part time job... Couple things today. First off, I believe all 9 shows did indeed sell out. Tickets were remarkably scarce. There was standing room available, although I believe the trouble with the Fire Marshall first FRI made even these scarce. Regarding Oteil-- the Lana stories speak volumes. Oteil is as sweet and nice and genuine a man as you could hope for. I spent almost 45 minutes on the phone with him for HTN, and he was so gracious and giving of his time. He is warm and friendly, and one thing he brings to the mix is the sheer joy he exudes onstage. It is infectious. As for his playing fitting the band, we're talking hand and glove. His jazz influences, along with Derek's and Marc's, combine to take this band in a new direction (a jazz direction, and in my opinion yes, they are a jazz band-- when they're not being a blues band.) And I think they always were, to hear Oteil talk about the composition of Berry's original bass lines. What Oteil does to "The Same Thing"-- an even better song today than it was during Warren's first tenure in the band, because of Oteil-- is something to behold. The band plays the song through, essentially staying in a blues idiom (it is after all a Willie Dixon song), even though it hits hard on the one chord. Then after Oteil's solo, he has transformed it to a funk-- again, leaning on the one-- but it is still the same song, only marginally altered. It is wholly different, yet fundamentally the same; he manages to show how funk and blues flow from the same wellspring. I think every version of this tune I've heard with Oteil on board has been a joy to behold. Speaking of the same wellspring, the way the band used the riff from "Afro-Blue"-- a jazz song, no?-- as a guitar harmony transitional lick to hand off solos was pure vintage Allman Brothers; the old riding on the new. To me, if Mike Lawler isn't on board, it isn't really a reunion. I respect all opinions, but to those folks who keep wanting to disparage this band and pine for Dickey-- especially after the pure artistry they just displayed at the Beacon-- why? What is the point? There IS no Butch-Gregg-Jaimoe-Dickey band, because the others had all made it clear they would resign if things continued. The band is energized and invigorated and vital and vibrant and alive; much more so than they were in the late 90s. Why don't you folks just go to Great Southern shows and pretend HE fired THEM? Then everyone wins. And I was, and will always be, a Dickey fan. But I'm also a realist, and I trust my ears. Frankly the last thing I'd want right now is a jarring line-up switch to mess with this mighty and fruitful chemistry going on with Gregg, Derek, Jaimoe, Marc, Warren, Butch, and Oteil (that's left to right in case you're wondering). Folks, THESE are the good old days. I stand by my comment from a few days ago; indeed I've been making it for a while. The Allman Brothers Band today is miles better than the band that Dickey left in spring 2000. And Great Southern is better than that band too. When you take personalities out of the equasion-- and Dawg, I realize you can't do this, because they are indelibly in your equasion, you worked with these guys-- it is damn near impossible to avoid the conclusion that the atom split in two, and both new entities are improvements on the old one. Bottom line, I can't believe how much negativity I'm hearing about a scene-- the ABB extended family-- that is an embarrassment of riches. How does this line-up today stack up against the original? In my opinion, that's like asking whether you prefer pasta or purple. It is a pointless question. That was then, and great; this is now, and great. As far as my favorite DVD, that's easy: THe ABB, live at the Beacon '03. But then I'm biased. I also like the Dead's Winterland show, although my hyper-familiarity with that show is an issue; and Todd Rundgren/Utopia's 1980 show from Columbus, I think. Full Adventures tour. I watch that one now and again.

Amen, Josh. I was just "Joshin" ya!

Hey now! :wave: Turbo charged birthday wishes to the one and only Warren Haynes. And to the one and only Big Windy! Can't believe we haven't hung out since August of '01. Too long! Enjoy your day, my man. I'm thinkin' some quality time in the garage is in order... 😎 Tim, the Pink Floyd "Live At Pompei" DVD is a keeper, if you're into early Pink Floyd. And anyone that is interested, there is a one hour special on CSNBC tonight with the always foxy Deborah Norville featuring...Barry Manilow!! Get your VCR's and Tivo's fired up and ready. :boomerang:

Happy Birthday Warren! Thankyou for picking up the guitar! EAPFP

Especially at 4 AM like last year, eh, Scotty? We ran into each other outside the Beacon Hotel as I was having a smoke (past tense) and I was figuring out what to do next. Scotty says, "C'mon, dude, we're gettin' food," and we were off to Big Nick's. A half hour later I was chowing down a Big Nick's Chicken Parm sub with Brent, Dino, Scotty and Big Dave. They even let me have their couch lay on (didn't sleep-it was after 5 AM at that point) until I left about 7. Since I didn't have a place to crash that night due to a last minute change in plans, those guys were life savers. The Leftcoasters are the best.