THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Live Quotes: 2007

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND

Live: 2007

GREGG ALLMAN (vocals and keyboards)/BUTCH TRUCKS (drums and tympani)/JAIMOE (drums)/WARREN HAYNES (vocals, lead and slide guitar)/DEREK TRUCKS (slide and lead guitar)/OTEIL BURBRIDGE (bass)/ MARC QUINONES (congas and percussion)

“Gregg Allman growled like a man who has spent much of his life defying death and evil –which he has…It was a startling blast-off to a night that, in this town, at this time of year, is so easy to take for granted. The Allman Brothers Band have made themselves at home at the Beacon for three weeks each spring since 1989. It is a hallowed local tradition, and the closest thing anywhere, certainly in this century, to the aura and lift-off that the Allmans trademarked in their legendary 1971 appearances at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East…But the Allmans were, from the start, an improvising band, dedicated to the magic and lessons of change, and April 7th was a night of dynamic hairpin turns. The second-set overture ‘Don’t Want You No More’–the Spencer Davis Group cover that opened 1969’s The Allman Brothers Band–was followed not by its usual sister song, the blues ‘It’s Not My Cross to Bear’ but by the jazzy meditation ‘Dreams,’ stretched to ecstatic length by an extraordinary Trucks bottleneck reverie in which long, vocal-like notes materialized from a fuzzy ocean of sustain. The full-blown ‘Mountain Jam’ that emerged from the extended drum-army break suddenly, on Haynes’ cue, braked and veered into Led Zeppelin’s ‘Dazed and Confused’–with Trucks, Jaimoe and Quinones tumbling in tandem like three John Bonhams–then U-turned back into ‘Mountain Jam.’”

–David Fricke, Rolling Stone, 4/9/07

“At last night’s Allman Brothers Band show at the Bank of America Pavilion, the two guitar phenoms parlayed their telepathic chemistry into a series of Homeric jams that came close to rivaling the collaborations of the band’s original axemen…Trucks and Haynes don’t duel, nor does one guitarist play second fiddle to the other.  Think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, not Batman and Robin.”

–Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 8/8/07

“…it was still a refreshingly organic experience compared to much of the over-rehearsed rock and pop that most arena and amphitheatre tours offer…this is a group that follows few patterns, save for the chord changes in the song it’s jamming on at the moment.”

–Rob Hubbard, Pioneer Press (MN), 8/29/07

“…after Sunday night’s show at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, you probably had anywhere between 16,000 and 19,000 people calling in sick Monday morning.  This was a spectacular party, with Bob Weir’s groove and Warren Haynes’ unearthly growl bringing down the house on ‘The Sky Is Crying.’ Two hours onstage for each band, urged on by fans who are twin sons of different mothers…the joyous ‘Revival’…opened the night, with Haynes leading the way with his precise riffing and Trucks on slide guitar, then swapping those roles for ‘Statesboro Blues.’  They were unpretentious, virtually egoless, despite their place at the front of one of the world’s most accomplished bands.”

–Jeff Spevak, Democrat & Chronicle (NY), 8/20/07 (with Bob Weir & Ratdog)

“Some 38 years after their beginning, the Allman Brothers Band is still one of the most compelling and inventive rock 'n' blues 'n' soul outfits anywhere, as any of the 5,000 multi-generational fans at the Bank of America Pavilion last night would attest.  Last night's 165-minutes of music, spread over two blistering sets, mainly included Allmans chestnuts, although a couple of surprises came from guest Susan Tedeschi, whose second set cameo literally had the throng roaring–and Norwell's gift to the blues surely held her own with hubby Derek Trucks and his guitar cohort, Warren Haynes, on the big stage…Allman's rawest, most striking vocal came on ‘Trouble No More,’ its rumbling power encapsulated in those churning guitar lines. Unison guitar lines capped 'Woman Across the River,' which Haynes sang, and Gregg ended the first set with a joyfully rocking gallop through 'Revival.'”

–Jay Miller, Patriot-Ledger (MA), 8/8/07

“From the first note struck, to the last resounding echoes, founding members Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe carried the formidable weight of their history on their collective shoulders like it was something to be respected, but not a burden…A slow reading of ‘Wasted Words’ ended with some serious slide solos, the take-your-head-off, go-through-the-roof type. It didn't end there. Warhorse ‘Statesboro Blues’ just took off as slim, spry Gregg Allman's gravely voice was the perfect fit. Allman then sang up a storm in a smoky ‘Gamblers Roll’…Though the focus was on guitars, it was drummer Butch Trucks who was really steering the ship, guiding the monstrous rhythm section of himself, Marc Quinones (percussion) and Oteil Burbridge on bass.”

–David Malachowski, Albany Times Union (NY), 8/7/07

“…took the blues all over the map, stopping in India, Africa, Chicago, the Mississippi Delta and, frankly, the moon a few times.  It can’t get better than this, in terms of musical interchange in the broad ‘rock’ world.”

      —Jeff Miers, Buffalo News, 8/21/07

“Now, the Allmans are spontaneous and unpredictable, with a vast repertoire that Wednesday night included lesser-known gems like ‘Rocking Horse’ and ‘Desdemona.’  Of course, with guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks at center stage, they could make something out of the Wiggles catalog.  The song is just there to set up the dueling guitar jam, driven by Gregg Allman’s funky organ work and the three powerhouse drummers in the back…‘One Way Out,’ featuring Gregg’s best vocal, put the icing on four solid hours of heady, vintage jamming from some of the folks who do it best.”

–Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post- Gazette, 8/16/07

 NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL (Newport, RI, 8/4/07)

“The Allman Brothers Band tackled Newport as it does most of its shows, with an imaginative professionalism that covers the bases and makes room for some serious musical exploration. By not surrounding the Allmans with a roster of acoustic and more traditional folk artists, Newport Folk set up the band to simply do what it does best, and the Allmans answered the call.  Guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks remain the turbo engines driving the group these days, and both pealed off smoking solo after smoking solo, particularly on the jam vehicles ‘In Memory of Elizabeth Reed’ and ‘Mountain Jam.’ Gregg Allman was in soulful form, especially on ‘Come and Go Blues’ and ‘Leave My Blues Alone,’ the latter of which was bisected by a lengthy drum jam.  The Allmans did dress up the proceedings with some interesting song choices, performing Van Morrison’s ‘Into the Mystic’ and The Band’s ‘The Weight,’ which featured Luther Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars adding one more guitar to the mix. With a rabid response from the 7,800 in attendance, the Allmans nailed the love-in-the-air mood with its encore reading of ‘Revival.’”

–Scott McLennan, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA), 8/10/07 (Newport Folk Festival)

“…the Allman Brothers Band, Saturday’s headliners, had monopolized the crowd’s attention with its signature Southern rock as slick and accomplished as many in the crowd must have remembered from 1969…the band tapped into something nearly spiritual for concertgoers.”

–James Reed, Boston Globe, 8/6/07 (Newport Folk Festival)

FARM AID 2007 (Randall’s Island, N.Y.C., 9/9/07)

“By food standards nothing could touch the miracle of a fresh peach at a rock festival.  But by music standards the Allman Brothers had it hands down.  They played the first long set, near dusk, though it was only about an hour: short, by their standards, and therefore tremendously tight and intense, with both the band’s guitarists, Mr. Trucks and Mr. Warren Haynes, reaching heights of improvisation faster and more powerfully than they often do in three-hour shows.”

–Ben Ratliff, New York Times, 9/11/07, (Farm Aid review)

“The Allman Brothers–whose set was by far the longest of the evening–were unquestionably the hardest-working men at the show.  Allman guitarist Derek Trucks played a fiery set with his own band, while his fellow ax-man Warren Haynes did a well-received acoustic set.”

–Andy Greene, Rollingstone.com, 9/10/07 (Farm Aid review)

“Fellow guitarist Derek Trucks did triple duty as well, contributing a set from his own band, joining Mellencamp on ‘Paper In Fire,’ but saving his best blistering slide work for the Allman Brothers’ turn.  That subsequent set rolled out like a blues-fried freight train, especially on the amazing back-to-back renditions of ‘Whipping Post,’ ‘Statesboro Blues’ and ‘One Way Out.’”

–John Voket, Livedaily.com, 9/10/07 (Farm Aid review)

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