Tonight is the first of 14 Allman Brothers shows at the Beacon, a run that has been ongoing every spring since 1992, only they skipped '93 and moved the party to Radio City in '95. I've seen over 100 of these shows. Tonight's gig is really a "pre-run" show, a private corporate gig for which a handful of tickets were placed on sale for the public (although if you happen to know a guy, like I do, you might have been able to score a second row seat.) I have a ticket for Thursday, but I really love being at the first show, and that made tonight's gig a must-see.

Don't know if I'm going to hit all 14 this year; in fact I'm certain I won't. But as always, the ones I do see, I will be reviewing, and submitting the reviews to the good people at Hittin' the Web, the band's site where last year they were kind enough to feature my wrute-ups prominently. (Of course you know about how I wrote the liner notes for this, right?)

In honor of the Allmans, I'm featuring this track from their September 1, 2006 Instant Live recording from Red Rocks, Colorado. It is Warren Haynes singing the old Howlin' Wolf chestnut, "Who's Been Talkin'."

click here to listen to the song.

Listen to how at 5:58, Haynes takes the vocals down as he repeats the refrain, "I'm the causin' of it all..." The music gets small with him, then he and Trucks inhabit this tiny space with magical dancing guitar figures, intertwining like serpents, wholly unaware of time, taking all the time they need even though the song is basically over. It is a treat; the real action in this song essentially begins when the song has ended. Listen to that dancing-on-the-edge-of-time guitar magic; it is moments like these that keep me comng back, up to 14 nights worth.

Labels: The tunes