Crossroads Guitar Festival Night 1 - Madison Square Garden 4/12/13

 

I wasn't going to go.  These big "event" shows always end up being a let down.  Take the Hall Of Fame Concerts a couple of years back...some pretty good performances and some yawns.  Against my better judgment I went ahead and bought an extra pair a co-worker had.  I caved. 

 

Not knowing who would play the first night was a little annoying but with a sense of anticipation the wife and I headed in to NYC to the World's Most Famous Arena (Rangers fan here) via the ever scuzzy LIRR.  This is my first trip after round 2 of renovations and I am less than excited by what I have seen.  Longer rows and more cramped seats.

 

 

The night started out promptly at 7:30 with the promised acoustic set from EC.  Nice mellow vibe and a few songs my wife knew and liked.  Some nice performances with Andy Fairwether-Low and Vince Gill made for a great start.  I was enthused.

 

Next up was Booker T.  A great set with guests Steve Cropper, Matt "Guitar " Murphy, Keb Mo and Alvin Lee.  Born Under A Bad Sign was pretty freakin' hot.

 

 

Robert Cray was up next and his set included the 86 years young King of the Blues Mr. B.B. King.  There couldn't have been a better pairing with Cray's tasteful, clean leads the perfect counter to Lucille's tone.  Clapton and Jimmy Vaughn joined them for a sit down, but not dull, version of Everyday I Have The Blues.  Good stuff folks...

 

 

I missed the beginning of Doyle Bramhall's set but got back to my seat in time to see some smokin' leads from both Doyle and guest Gary Clark Jr.  I am not a fan of Bramhall's style but his playing speaks for itself.

 

 

We got some jazz with a short set from Earl Klugh and then Kurt Rosenwinkle (new to me) with guest turns from Allan Holdsworth and Clapton.  Not my thing and a big energy killer for most of the MSG crowd.

 

 

Huge response for John Mayer.  Yawns from me.  I just don't get the appeal.  The Trio album was pretty good, but the rest leaves me bored.  Keith Urban closed the set with Mayer dueting on the Beatles Don't Let Me Down.  Ugh.

 

 

The King of Chicago Blues and the Baddest Mother Fucker in the World...Buddy Guy.  Great set with 14 year old prodigy Quinn Sullivan and pedal steel badass Robert Randolph.  Energy back.  Volume up.   Things are improving big time.



The headliner for night1 was The Allman Brothers Band.  I was pretty worried about Gregg's health after seeing them at the beach this past summer but those fears are in the past.  He sounded great and the band was smokin' hot.  After the opener DWYNK>Ain't My Cross To Bear.  The band brought out Cesar Rosas and David Hidalgo from Los Lobos and Taj Mahal for Stateboro Blues.  Uh, more please.  Every time I see the guys from Los Lobos play with the Brothers or Gov't Mule I am blown away.  After a really jammy Black Hearted Woman Clapton came out for Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad.  The leads fired off between Derek Trucks and EC made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.  Just amazing. 

And then he walks off????  I was at the Beacon the second night he jammed with the Brothers a couple of years back and I expected more...that is I expected more songs!  A killer Whipping Post followed and the show was over

 

 

So the night ended up how I expected.  Some highlights, a few truly memorable performances and some let-downs.  As I said to my wife I am going to stick to the Brothers and Gov't Mule at the Beacon...they do the guest spot thing so much better.

 

Here's the set list as posted on PhilZone.com

 

Eric Clapton

1. Driftin' (with Steve Jordan & Willie Weeks)
2. Spider Jiving (with above & Andy Fairweather Low lead vocal, Doyle Bramhall II & Greg Leisz)
3. Tears in Heaven (with above and Chris Stainton)
4. Lay Down Sally (with above and Vince Gill)
5. Wonderful Tonight

Booker T, Steve Cropper, Blake Mills, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Keb Mo

1. Time is Tight
2. Hip Hug Her
3.Sleep Walk
4. Born Under a Bad Sign (with Keb Mo)
5. Green Onions (with Keb Mo)

Robert Cray, B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughn, Eric Clapton

1. Side Dish
2. Great Big Old House
3. Let the Good Times Roll (with B.B. King)
4. Sweet Sixteen (with B.B. King)
5. Everyday I Have the Blues (with B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughn & Eric Clapton

Sonny Landreth

1.

Doyle Bramhall II, Citizen Cope, Gary Clark Jr.

1. Green Light Girl
2. Cry
3. Bullet and a Target (with Citizen Cope)
4. Son's Gonna Rise (with Citizen Cope and Gary Clark Jr.)
5. She's Alright (with Gary Clark Jr.)

Philip Sayce

1. Steamroller

Earl Kugh, Al Turner

1.
2. This Time
3.

Kurt Rosenwinkle, Alan Holdsworth, Eric Clapton

1.
2. (with Alan Holdsworth)
3. If I Should Lose You (with Eric Clapton)
4. Way Down that Lonesome Road (with Eric Clapton)

Gary Clark Jr.

1. Next Door Neighbor Blues
2. Don't Owe You a Thing

John Mayer, Keith Urban

1. Who Says
2. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
3. Queen of California
4. Don't Let Me Down (with Keith Urban)

Buddy Guy, Robert Randolph, Quinn Sullivan

1. Damn Right I've Got the Blues
2. Let the Door Knob Hit Ya
3. Slippin in
4. Outro music

Dan Akroyd, Keb Mo

1. Louisiana Blues>Got My Mojo Working

The Allman Brothers Band, Taj Mahal, Cesar Rosas, David Hidalgo, Eric Clapton

1. Don't Want You No More
2. It's Not My Cross to Bear
3. Statesboro Blues (with Taj Mahal, Cesar Rosas & David Hidalgo)
4. Black Hearted Woman
5. Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad? (with Eric Clapton)
6. Whipping Post

 

 

The pictures are from the Crossroads Facebook page.

Allman Brothers & Santana at Jones Beach

The Allman Brothers were at Jones Beach last week for their annual summer stop on Long Island and this year brought Carlos Santana along for the ride.  I've seen Carlos a couple of times before, and while I am a fan of much of what he has done, I have never been blown away by his live shows.  This year was no exception.  The ban was tight, almost too tight, and there was a lack of fire in his playing.  This is not the same Carlos that you saw at Woodstock my friends and he hasn't been in decades.  Judging by the crowd response I was alone in my opinion and his 100 minute set was a big hit.

I've seen the Brothers too many times to count over the year and I've seen them great and I've seen them suck.  This year had me concerned...Gregg looked and sounded, well tired.  Very tired.  He appeared to run out of breath a bunch of times when he was singing and he had a very lethargic look.  It seems like years of hard living have caught up, and I hope this is not the case, leaving his touring future in doubt.

The good news is the band played their asses off during their set.  I kind of like when they play the shorter one set show.  The band is much more focused with less time to play so their forays into experimentaiton were limited.  That doesn't mean they didn't stretch out on Mountain Jam with Carlos or a smoking Liz Reed.  The set was loaded with early "hits" and the crowd ate it up, although a lot of the women around me looked bored (Santana was the favorite for many of the ladies in attendance).  Susan Teeschi joined in for Don't Think Twice and the whole show wrapped up with Whipping Post.

01. crowd
02. One Way Out
03. Statesboro Blues
04. Come and Go Blues
05. Worried Down With The Blues *
06. Midnight Rider > In A Silent Way >
07. Mountain Jam >
08. Smokestack Lightnin' >
09. Mountain Jam **

01. Done Somebody Wrong
02. Don't Think Twice ***
03. Good Morning Little School Girl ****
04. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
05. crowd
Encore:
06. Whipping Post

I truly hope I'm wrong about Gregg's health...he has me worried about his and the band's future.

OK, The Allman Brothers Band

Ok, the Allman Brothers Band.... from Brett Underhill on Vimeo.

This is pretty cool.  I love the Brothers and wish Gregg all the best as he recovers, but with the exception of the 40th anniversary Beacon shows I think they have gotten "tired".  It might be time to pack in in with the live shows.  The current state of the live shows does nothing however to diminish the talent and influence that they have had over all these year..

2009 - The Year In Concerts

I made it to 43 shows in 2009. Not as many as some but more than most I think. It was a pretty good year for me live music-wise but I think I need to slow it down a bit in 2010. Some highlights for me...

Bruce Springsteen - Nassau, Giants Stadium Nights 3 & 5, MSG (E. Street Shuffle & The River Live)

What can I say, I love the Boss. I've seen him too many times to count and this tour (as well as the Magic tour which this was really an extension of) featured some of the best shows I've seen him do. Was it 78 or 80, no it wasn't, but certainly the shows were as good as the BITUSA tour and in my opinion better than either the Reunion Tour or The Rising shows (which were also pretty damn good). Let's hope this is not the end.

Railroad Earth - Boulton Center and Music Hall of Williamsburg

These guys are my new favorite "jam band". The acoustic instruments and the "bluegrass"sound are great. Can't wait for the next show in February.

Texas Independence Day - Terminal 5

Robert Earl Keen, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Charlie Robison and Ray Wylie Hubbard. Can I get a Hell Yeah?

Allman Brothers Band - Beacon Theater

One of the best nights I have seen them. Eric Clapton doesn't hurt either. If this is the end then they are going out on a high note.

Randy Rogers Band - Highline Ballroom

Too rock for Nashville, too country for rock. To it's just right. A great live band.

Steely Dan - Beacon Theater

This is the right venue for the Dan. Great songs, great performance, just a great night.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert - Both Nights

I just found an audio rip of the HBO special. It's funny, I loved being there and Stevie Wonder and Bruce were amazing but much of the others left me pretty ambivalent on re-listening. Somethings are best experienced once and remembered instead of re-lived.

Some Pleasant Surprises:

Patti Smith, The Subdudes & The Cult

Some Disappointments

The Dead, Three Girls and their Buddy (great show but no Buddy Miller - Glad He's better)

It really was a good year. Most of the shows I saw I enjoyed. I was tortured at a few but it was for my son (Buckethead??? Never again) so I can live with it. If you haven't been to a show lately it's time to get out there and see some live music.

Allman Brothers Band & Widespread Panic at Jones Beach

I have to start out by saying that the Brothers were great at the Beacon in March. I didn't plan on going as they were really starting to get into a rut and I was getting bored. I've seen them a couple of dozen times over the past 30 years so I have some basis for comparission. I want to remember them fondly not as a boring old touring band. My son had never seen them so I grabbed some tickets for one of the Friday night shows. I won the concert lottery because that was the second night Clapton played with them. They were on fire before EC, but the second halof was classic rock nirvana. So I gave it another go with some cheap seats for Jones Beach.

This was pretty much a split decision for me. I got there around 7:30 so I missed some of Panic's set. I've always kind of liked them but never got to see them live so this was indeed a suprise. I've seen Jimmy Herring play with Phil Lesh so I know that he is pretty good, but he is on fire with Panic. His solos were amazing. Sam was dumfounded. Then we got some guest spots with Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes for a few numbers. Great stuff. I have to grab the download from their site and will not miss them on the next NYC stop.

UPDATE: I downloaded the show from the band's web site tonight and upon further review I may not have been kind enough in my words. This was a killer full of great grooves and some superior musicianship. I will be back for more.

Three Candles
Worry
From the Cradle
Tall Boy
Blue Indian
Hatfield>
Impossible>
Thin Air>
Blackout Blues>
Fishwater>
Protein Drink>
Sewing Machine
Ain't Life Grand

Since this was a true double bill, both acts got about 2 hours which is less than a normal show but not too short. The Brothers hit the stage a little after 9:30 and things were pretty good. My bif complaint is song selection. They have a heck of a catalog and it seems like we get a lot of the same songs at Jones Beach year after year. I am sick of Woman Across the River and Rocking Horse (even though Warren killed the solo). In fact Warren Haynes, who I think is one of the all-time greats needs to get away from the Brothers and the Dead for a bit and concentrate on Gov't Mule which is where he really shines. Just my opinion. The setlist was pretty basic, the playing strong but a bit uninspired after the Beacon run, just an OK show. Does anyone else miss Dickey Betts? The best part is Gregg sounds great. Way up in the mix and singing really strong.

DONE SOMEBODY WRONG
HOT LANTA
AIN'T WASTING TIME NO MORE
WOMAN ACROSS THE RIVER
MIDNITE RIDER
ROCKIN HORSE
STATESBORO BLUES
REVIVAL
STORMY MONDAY
ELIZABETH REED (W/ JIMMY HERRING)
SOUTHBOUND