Allman Brothers Band Bust Out Dickey Tune At Beacon

All Photos By: Adam McCullough

The Allman Brothers Band’s “March Madness” residency continued at the Beacon Theatre in New York City last night for the second of 14 sold-out shows. After the group dusted off a long-lost classic co-written by Dickey Betts at Friday night’s Beacon run opener, the band busted out another long-mothballed Dickey tune on Saturday.

[Photo by Adam McCullough]

As we’ve mentioned a number of times, this year’s run takes on added significance since guitarists Derek Trucks & Warren Haynes announced their coming departure from the group. The members of the band took the stage on Saturday with a short psychedelic jam before launching into “Statesboro Blues.” Gregg Allman was in fine voice on “Statesboro” as he was throughout the evening. Last week we shared a piece written by JamBase’s Chad Berndtson which detailed the best additions to the Allman Brothers Band’s repertoire of the Derek/Warren era. Last night the group delivered a number of the songs from that list including a scorching “Rocking Horse,” the jazz-tinged “Egypt” and a heartily extended “Black Hearted Woman.” “Rocking Horse” and “Black Hearted Woman” both stood out as highlights on Saturday night thanks to expansive jams tacked on to each featuring explosive work from Haynes and Trucks. “Egypt,” which was debuted during the 2005 Beacon run, was only played once in 2013, yet last night’s version was spot-on. The first set also included “Get On With Your Life” off 1991’s Shades Of Two Worlds, which was performed frequently in 1991 and 1992, but not since.

As the Allmans slowly filed on stage for the second set, Haynes & Trucks started the gorgeous instrumental “Little Martha,” another song that was busted out during a prior Beacon run. The rest of the group joined in on “Little Martha” towards the end of the tune. From there, the band lit into a potent “Blue Sky” and the capacity crowd went wild. Both Derek and Warren delivered outstanding solos in “Blue Sky.” Following “Sailin’ Across The Devil’s Sea” bassist Oteil Burbridge stepped into the spotlight for the first “Seven Turns” since May 7, 2000 -aka Dickey Betts’s last show with the Allman Brothers Band. Burbridge’s soulful delivery of the long-lost gem was well received. As mentioned, “Black Hearted Woman” was one of the improvisational highlights of the evening thanks to its roaring “The Other One”-like jam segment. Later in the second set, Haynes led the group through one of the newest Allmans songs -“Spots of Time” which Warren co-wrote with Phil Lesh. “Spots Of Time” also featured a soaring jam after the structured part of the composition. “Jessica” brought the closing stanza to its conclusion, while “Southbound” served as the encore. Following lots of pre-run talk of special guests, the 2014 Beacon residency has started with two guest-less performances. But from the looks of the smiles of fans departing the historic venue, that was just fine by them.

Check out a full gallery of amazing snaps by Adam McCullough:

Here’s a look at the setlist from last night’s show:

Set One: Statesboro Blues, Come and Go Blues, Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’, Hot ‘Lanta, Rocking Horse, Get On With Your Life, Rain, Egypt, Hoochie Coochie Man

Set Two: Little Martha > Blue Sky, Sailin’ Cross The Devil’s Sea, Seven Turns, Black Hearted Woman, Low Down Dirty Mean, Spots of Time, Jessica

Encore: Southbound

The Songs -Allman Brothers Band Beacon Run 2014:

Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More -1
Black Hearted Woman -1
Blue Sky -1
Come and Go Blues -1
Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ -1
Dreams -1
Dusk Till Dawn -1
Egypt -1
Get On With Your Life -1
Hoochie Coochie Man -1
Hot ‘Lanta -1
In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed -1
I Walk On Gilded Splinters -1
Jessica -1
Leave My Blues At Home -1
Little Martha -1
Low Down Dirty Mean -1
Melissa -1
Midnight Rider -1
No One To Run With -1
Old Friend -1
Rain -1
Revival -1
Rocking Horse -1
Sailin’ ‘Cross The Devil’s Sea -1
Seven Turns -1
Southbound -1
Spots of Time -1
Statesboro Blues -1
The Sky Is Crying -1
Trouble No More -1
True Gravity -1
Whipping Post -1
Worried Down With The Blues -1
You Don’t Love Me -1