Neal Casal Uses Duane Allman Gold Top At Chris Robinson Brotherhood Show

On Thursday night the Chris Robinson Brotherhood brought their Summer Tour to The Allman Brothers Band’s hometown of Macon, Georgia for a performance at Cox Capitol Theatre. Guitarist Neal Casal had the honors of using legendary axeman Duane Allman’s famed 1957 goldtop Les Paul in Macon.

The 1957 goldtop Les Paul, which is currently at display at Macon’s The Big House when rockers aren’t using it, was the guitar on which Duane Allman learned and perfected his slide style. Skydog bought the axe in early 1969 and used it at hundreds of ABB concerts, on the first two Allman Brothers Band studio albums and for nearly the entire Derek & The Dominos album Layla & Assorted Other Love Songs.

Last night’s first set saw The CRB open with Hank Ballard & The Midnighters’ “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go” and throw in a number of songs from Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel – their new studio album due a week from today. The band also debuted a cover of Joe Tex’s “I Want To (Do Everything For You)” within the first set. Casal shined on the goldtop during the set-closing rendition of “Hard To Handle.” Thursday’s second set featured a career-spanning collection of originals including the new “Narcissus Soaking Wet” as well a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tough Mama” and a rendition of the Black Crowes’ “I Ain’t Hiding.” Chris Robinson Brotherhood ended the evening in Macon with “Sunday Sound” from Chris’s days with New Earth Mud.

“The coolest thing was breaking it out for “Hard To Handle.” Playing an Otis [Redding] (who was from Macon) song with Duane’s guitar, with Chris, was kinda a once in a lifetime thing. That was the last song of set one. Then in set two I played it from Tough Mama until the end of the show,” Neal Casal tells JamBase. Next up for The CRB is a show at Sky City in Augusta on Friday night.

Watch fan-shot footage of Neal tearing it up on “Hard To Handle” using Duane’s axe captured by Lynntwood: