Honeytribe | 09.12 | Baton Rouge
By Team JamBase Sep 18, 2007 • 12:23 am PDT

Devon Allman’s Honeytribe :: 09.12.07 :: Varsity Theatre :: Baton Rouge, LA
![]() |
Warming the stage for Honeytribe were Fort Collins, Colorado’s Green Lemon, whose heavy psychedelic stylings and penchant for dense, instrumental jams have them poised to fill late night slots on the festival circuit in the near future.
With the crowd energized and the evening’s storm settling into the background, Honeytribe humbly took the stage and launched into the jazzy, instrumental “Mahalo” (Hawaiian for “Thank You”). Showing no signs of road weariness, they fell right into its rich, guitar driven groove as keyboardist Jack Kirkner weaved into and out of Allman’s melodic riffs, which rung home atop the track’s up-tempo, syncopated foundation. Next, they showcased their blues chops giving spirited renditions of Junior Wells’ “Checking On My Baby” and B.B. King’s “Sweet Little Angel.”
![]() |
Midway through the Double Trouble-esque “Why You Wanna Bring Me Down,” the band soloed themselves off the stage until bassist George Potsos stood alone to deliver a filthy extended solo complete with slapping, popping and tapping between bouts of playing behind his head. Soon, drummer Mark Oyarzabal joined in, and once Kirkner made his way to back onto the stage the three-piece struck into a tease of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer.” With Allman back in the fold, they made their way into the Allman Brothers Band’s “Jessica” before winding back to “Why You Wanna Bring Me Down.” After taking it down a notch with the balladry of “When I Call Home,” Honeytribe struck right back into the blues with the heavy “Heaven Has No Mercy,” whose outro delivered the surprise of the night – a sweeping version of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” Appearing just as surprised with the cover choice as the audience, the lively quartet closed with the boisterous shuffle “Nothing To Be Sad About.”
Allman reappeared shortly thereafter, alone for the encore and dedicated “511 Texas Avenue” – a compelling instrumental reminiscent of ABB’s “Little Martha” – to his grandparents. Kirkner returned to join Allman for a chilling version of the ABB’s “Melissa,” which Allman introduced saying, “This is a song that we don’t usually do because there’s another band doing this one on the road right now – very well. This is actually the second time we’re going to play it since we started touring two years ago, but we’re going to break it out for you guys tonight.”
![]() |
Delivering an exciting, eclectic set, Devon Allman’s Honeytribe showed once again why they have been winning fans all across the country. Before packing up their gear and heading to the next gig, the band spent the rest of the night meeting, mingling and drinking with their fans – no VIP required.
Expect a big 2008 from Honeytribe. After finishing up the year in Europe, they’ll return Stateside to take refuge at Miami’s famed Criteria Studios (yes, the studio where Derek and the Dominos logged Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs) to record the follow-up to Torch.
JamBase | Baton Rouge
Go See Live Music!