On Wednesday March 27, 2019 – 50 years to the day of the formation of The Allman Brothers Band, The Allman Betts Band made their debut at Brooklyn Bowl in New York City and they certainly did not disappoint.
Allman Betts Band consists of Devon Allman, Duane Betts and Berry Oakley Jr., (you can probably figure out who their Father’s are), guitarist Johnny Stachela, drummers Jon Lum and R. Scott Bryan and keyboardist John Ginty. Devon and Duane have been playing together for over 30 years and both have solo albums, and the other members of the band are definitely top notch musicians. Any Allman Brothers super fan like myself will certainly enjoy this group.
The setlist was a mix of new music from the band’s debut album Down To The River, solo cuts from both Devon and Duan’s solo albums. Of course there were also a few Allman Brothers classics like Elizabeth Reed, Blue Sky and Dreams. There was even a cover of Prince’s Purple Rain featuring country singer and Brooklyn born Jessica Lynn. You can see the full setlist below.
On April 9, 2021 the group will finally hit the road again and start their Spring tour at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Az continuing through the midwest for 15 dates. After that they will continue for 12 more show in May and June mostly in the south. You can see all of the upcoming tour dates here. They also have a follow up album to Down To The River called Bless Your Heart which was released last summer. Due to Covid19 the band was unable to tour last year but now many states are easing restrictions and it appears that live music is finally making a come back.
Setlist: All Night, Melodies Are Memories, Blue Sky (Allman Brothers cover), Left My Heart In Memphis (Royal Southern Brotherhood cover), Taking Time (Duane Betts cover), In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Allman Brothers cover), Multi-Colored Lady (Greg Allman cover), Seven Turns (Allman Brothers cover), Mahalo (Devon Allman’s Honeytribe cover), Purple Rain (Prince cover with Jessica Lynn), Dreams (Allman Brothers cover), Good Ol Days, Shakedown Street (Grateful Dead cover)
31 years ago today, the Grateful Dead were finally able to play a show in the city of Albany thanks to the brand new Knickerbocker Arena, aka The Knick. Somehow, they had gone all this time without ever paying a trip to New York’s capital. But now with a shiny new venue opened just months earlier that easily fits thousands, Albany became a logical destination for the Dead. This would mark the first of thirteen shows the band would play at this venue. But Spring of 1990 is a particularly special time of Dead, one of their most acclaimed and widely popular tours of all time. So it’s only fitting that these first Albany shows are captured in the band’s 1996 official live release Dozin’ At The Knick. Much of the album’s material is rightfully culled from this special, first ever Albany Dead show.
Local promoter Greg Bell of Guthrie/Bell Productions played a small but critical role in those March 1990 shows.
A friend of mine worked for Mayor Whalen and I was the only Deadhead she knew, so they asked me to come in snd speak to the Mayor’s people, the Police, Fire Department and several other various Albany officials.
I gave them advice on how to deal with the Deadheads. They listened to everything that I suggested and it was one of the most relaxed and cool scenes I had ever seen at an East Coast show.
This would be the first night of a three-night run in Albany and the Dead were quickly and comfortably settled in at the Knick. This sentiment comes across in the quasi-casual start to the “Let The Good Times Roll” that opens the show this evening. By the end though, the band is fully engaged, as is the rest of the building. Riding this early wave, the band then quickly jumps into the crowd favorite “Help On The Way.” Jerry Garcia digs into his guitar’s bag of tricks and comes up with some interesting effects on “Slipknot!” And despite some shaky early lyrics, there’s no issue with the dismount on “Franklin’s Tower” and the Knick crowd eagerly shows their love for this quintessential sequence of Grateful Dead.
Bob Weir then takes center stage and coolly leads the band through “Walkin’ Blues” which is featured on the album. But somehow, to the disbelief of Deadheads worldwide, the “Loser” that follows somehow did not make the final cut. A goosebump-inducing roar of approval from the Knick greets this one and the performance certainly lives up to it. Garcia’s singing is steady on this one and his poignant solos along with Brent Mydland’s blasting organ fills help fuel this instant classic.
The first set also features “Desolation Row,” one of the many Bob Dylan songs the band would cover and make their own. More delicate guitar licks from Garcia and intricate bass play from a “turned up” Phil Lesh dominate this one. The Dead’s first ever set at the Knick then closes up with a lively take on “Tennessee Jed,” with the crowd in full sing-along mode, and Bob Weir’s typically rowdy “One More Saturday Night.”
With their first set at the Knick now in the books, the Grateful Dead then proceed to rip through a second set that, justly, makes up a significant portion of the album. It fills up the entire second and some of the third of the three-disc release. “Playin’ In The Band” is the set opener choice and sets the tone nicely. Phil Lesh and his vibrant bass play continue to shine early on this one before the jam begins to stretch and digress. Mydland and his electric keys also add a spiritual element to this jam that gets heavy in a hurry. However, instead of truly going off the deep end, the jam calmly and steadily veers into the opening chords of “Uncle John’s Band.”
March 24, 1990 Knickerbocker Arena
This band rips through the composed section with ease, stretching it out nicely between verses with ease. This proficiency carries right over to another quick and rapid-fire type jam, one that seems to almost be a continuation of PITB. But instead of stretching it out again, Garcia quietly begins strumming the open to “Terrapin Station,” much to the crowd’s delight. This caps the set’s powerhouse opening trifecta of Dead classics.
The whole band is locked in on the song and it’s customary outro jam never gets stale on this one, with each member adding a little “spice” of their own to keep it interesting – Mydland especially. But as the jam loses its “Terrapin” structure, an old friend emerges. A slow-building familiar four chord jam begins to develop, none other than the “Mind Left Body Jam.” Dead scholars maintain this is the first one in more than five years, if not longer. It’s believed by some to be related to the Paul Kanter song “Your Mind Has Left Your Body” and also shares the same chord progression as “You’re All I Need To Get By,” among other songs. To the Knick’s delight, the Dead dust off this simple, pyschedelic instrumental that’s labeled on the album as “Mud Love Buddy Jam” in a nod to a former taper’s description of it.
After lengthy “Drums” and “Space” sequences led by drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, “The Wheel” emerges in boisterous fashion. But this one is kept pretty short and simple. At its conclusion, another familiar Dylan cover immediately takes shape, this time it’s “All Along The Watchtower.” Garcia produces a bed of wailing guitar sounds that dominate this cover that’s been a part of the Dead’s live repertoire since 1987.
After the band is done toying around with the “Watchtower” jam, things slow down one last time for a typically poignant Garcia-sung “Stella Blue.” Brent Mydland leads the backup harmonizing vocals while Garcia delivers a pair of hauntingly beautiful guitar solos in a staggering, soulful juxtaposition to the raucous “Watchtower” from just minutes earlier.
The opening shuffle-beat of “Not Fade Away” then emerges, giving the Dead one last chance to jam. They rip through the Buddy Holly cover with no abandon, gladly declaring their love “will not fade away.” This then devolves into Weir singing by himself while the rest of the band phonetically sings the beat before it then turns into the full Knickerbocker Arena crown singing the chorus back to the band well after they’ve left the stage- a truly special Grateful Dead moment that Dozin’ captures beautifully.
Grateful Dead Knickerbocker Arena – Albany, NY 3/24/90
Set 1: Let The Good Times Roll, Help On The Way-> Slipknot!-> Franklin’s Tower, Walkin’ Blues, Loser, Desolation Row, Tennessee Jed, One More Saturday Night
Set 2: Playin’ In The Band-> Uncle John’s Band-> Terrapin Station-> Mind Left Body Jam-> Drums-> Space-> The Wheel-> All Along The Watchtower-> Stella Blue-> Not Fade Away
48 years ago today, The Grateful Dead wrapped up their first ever run at Nassau Coliseum. The venerable Long Island venue was almost completely new at the time, having only opened in February of 1972. In fact, the Dead were only the second band to ever play a concert in the building, surpassed only by their brethren in Chicago the year before. Today would wrap up the final show of their first three-day run here, planting the seeds for another 39 Grateful Dead shows at Nassau for years to come. This introduction ends in remarkable fashion with a show that’s got a little bit of everything: a first set that simply overpowers the second, unique costume wear from the band, and a powerful goodbye to a dear friend.
This show was a double bill of sorts with the Dead’s old friends New Riders of the Purple Sage performing an opening set to get thing started. So the Long Island crowd had already been given a taste of some West Coast psychedelic country and rock styling. Now it was the Dead’s turn. After a quick intro from promoter extraordinaire Bill Graham, they’re off and running with a feverish cover of Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land.”
Things then slow down and take an immediate emotional left turn courtesy of the “He’s Gone” that follows. This would be the song’s first live performance since the passing of the legendary Pigpen, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, just eleven days earlier. Jerry Garcia’s usually delicate vocals here are surpassed only by a supremely poignant guitar solo that simply oozes emotion. The declaration of “nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile” seems to hit a little harder on this one. And Donna Jean and the crowd both lend some audible support as well in a stirring version that’s more than a fitting tribute to the late Pigpen.
Ron “Pigpen” McKernan Sept 8, 1945 – March 8 , 1973
With the musical eulogy out of the way, the rest of the first set proceeds in a more familiar fashion. Bob Weir leads a quick jaunt through “Mexicali Blues.” And Garcia follows in fine fashion in a flawless, uptempo “They Love Each Other.” But the band doesn’t seem ready to say goodbye quite yet. This time Weir takes the helm on vocals and delivers a beautiful and inspired “Looks Like Rain” that’s comes off as one more nod to the somber circumstances of a friend’s recent death.
Deadheads will get a kick out of the first set’s “Wave That Flag,” a precursor to “U.S. Blues” that was played only 14 times and features vastly different lyrics. There’s also a decent bust-out as well. For the first time in almost three years and more than 270 show, “The Race Is On” is dusted off by the Grateful Dead and presented to the Nassau crowd.
No one would complain if tonight’s opening stanza ended with the flawless “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” that later followed. But, no, this set goes to “11.” Perhaps fueled by some of the emotions from earlier, the band just keeps motoring on. One more Berry cover in “Around & Around” makes an appearance. And “Tennessee Jed” keeps the faithful in the new Long Island barn collectively swaying.
Until finally, the first set is capped in grandiose fashion with a mad dash of a “Playin’ In The Band.” All the energy and emotions from earlier seem to get collected here and let loose in a near 16-minute gem that serves as a fitting cap to an exhilarating first set that stretches out past an hour and 40 minutes. The footage of it that follows is reported to be some of the only video of live 1973 Grateful Dead music. Members of the band can be seen in their “Nudie Suits,” bedazzled and sequined suits that were worn a handful of times at shows in late ’72 and early ’73. This psychedelic Country-Western garb is named after the designer Nudie Cohn and were popularized by the Flying Burrito Brothers at the time. This is supposedly the last show at which they were ever worn.
A whirlwind opening set like that would be nearly impossible to top. The second set has nice intentions, but the opening stretch is played somewhat close to the belt. The relatively new-at-the-time “Loose Lucy” kicks things off, with a more pronounced Keith Godchaux on piano coming through in the mix. “Lucy” made its concert debut only earlier last month. Then there’s a a string of “first set”-sounding songs like “Me And My Uncle” and “Big River” that follow. Bill Kreutzmann’s work behind the drum kit really shines on the Johnny Cash cover. And “Mississippi Half-Step” continues this trend of well played live Dead staples that just lack some of the improvisation normally found at this part of the program.
“Jack Straw” picks up the energy considerably in the second set and seems to fuel the band towards the finish line. “Truckin’” follows, paying tribute to New York, a state that’s “got the ways and means.” This yields the first significant jam of the second set, a bluesy little excursion spearheaded by Garcia. It even includes a distinct “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” instrumental nod as the jam begins to progress.
Jerry and Bob in their Nudie Suits, February 1973
A short and sweet “Drums” section then transitions seamlessly into “The Other One,” with Phil Lesh’s thunderous bass notes triggering the opening sequence. Along with Garcia-supplied guitar licks, the two lead an impressively patient and vibrant musical introduction before the first words of the song are even sung.
This and the near 17-minute “Eyes Of The World” that follows really serve as the foundation for this second set. This version of “Eyes” is fairly incredible in that it’s another new-at-the-time, this being only the tenth one ever played. The Dead move effortlessly through the composed section, sounding like they’ve been playing this song for years, before settling into another patient and intricate exploratory jam.
The “Johnny B. Goode” set closer completes the Berry Trifecta for this evening before a “Casey Jones” encore sends the Nassau faithful merrily on their way. Afterwards, the train would be getting on the tracks on heading upstate for two shows at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. It’s a well played set that has a few standout moments but, overall, just doesn’t compare to the emotional powerhouse the opening stanza delivered.
Listen to this great show track by track below, or all at once here.
Grateful Dead – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Uniondale, NY 3/19/73
Set 1: Promised Land, He’s Gone, Mexicali Blues, They Love Each Other, Looks Like Rain, Wave That Flag, Box Of Rain, The Race is On, Row Jimmy, El Paso, China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider, Around & Around, Tennessee Jed, Playin’ In The Band
Set 2: Loose Lucy, Me & My Uncle, Brown Eyed Women, Big River, Mississippi Half Step, Stella Blue, Jack Straw, Truckin’-> The Other One-> Eyes Of The World-> China Doll, Johnny B. Goode
On March 18, 2019, Fleetwood Mac played the second of two sold out shows at Madison Square Garden supporting their “An Evening With Fleetwood Mac” tour. The lineup consisted of Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.
Originally the tour was referred to as the “Farewell Tour” with plans of having the Rumours lineup including Lindsey Buckingham, but a few weeks prior to the start of the tour, the band had announced their separation with Buckingham.
The reason for the separation was reportedly due to disagreements about the tour. In a Rolling Stone interview, Buckingham later revealed that the real reasons he was fired was that Nicks took issue with the fact that he “smirked” during her thank you speech at the Musicares person of the year event, and also the way that Buckingham reacted to being introduced with Nick’s “Rhiannon.” Vocalist/guitarist Neil Finn and guitarist Mike Campbell joined the band shortly after Buckingham’s departure.
Despite Buckingham not being present, the show was still fantastic. The band opened the show with three huge hits, “The Chain,” “Little Lies” and “Dreams.” Their set also included more hits like “Say You Love Me,” “Rhiannon,” “Gypsy” and “Go Your Own Way.” Each of the new members also had a chance to shine with Neil playing Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and a cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” as images of Tom and Stevie were projected on the screen behind them. Another highlight was when they played “Black Magic Woman” which was written by original member Peter Green before Santana turned it into a huge hit.
In a 2020 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nicks said she hasn’t spoken to Buckingham since his departure, but she did write him a note after he suffered from a heart attack in February of 2019. On March 27, 2021, there will be an All Star Tribute to Peter Green available on demand that was recorded at the London Palladium on February 25, 2020, just days before the global shut down due to COVID-19. A live album of the concert will also be released on April 30, 2021.
Setlist: The Chain, Little Lies, Dreams, Second Hand News, Say You Love Me, Black Magic Woman, Everywhere, Rhiannon, World Turning, Gypsy, Oh Well, Don’t Dream It’s Over, Landslide, Hold Me, Monday Morning, You Make Loving Fun, Gold Dust Woman, Go Your Own Way
St. Patrick’s Day is normally for pints of Guinness, Irish music, parades, and indeed in New York City that was the case in 1990, as always before the plague temporarily swept all that away. The Pogues had played a Friday night gig at the Beacon, and were playing Saturday Night Live on this night, the parade happened in Manhattan, the pubs were no doubt full, but in Brooklyn there was nary a tin whistle in sight, only the loud and the heavy. This was a killer triple-bill on St. Patrick’s Day that had naught to do with being Irish: Quebec heavies Voivod, Seattle bruisers Soundgarden and just-achieving-stardom west coasters Faith No More, at L’Amour in Brooklyn – doubtless one of the great gigs ever.
This was the final night of this tour – Voivod and Soundgarden had been on tour together for months, with FNM the opening band on early shows, and then again at the end of the tour. So there was a celebratory air, each of the bands getting on stage during the other bands’ sets, jamming.
Voivod headlined. Soundgarden was in the middle slot. This seemed unthinkable just a year or two later, when FNM and Soundgarden both blew up, but in 1989-90, Voivod was the bigger band, beloved left-field underground metal kings.
Voivod jamming with Soundgarden and Faith No More – Chris Cornell with two beers in hands. Photo by Greg Fasolino
So Faith No More, on ‘The Real Thing’ tour, opened the night – they were certainly the least-known of the bands, but shortly before this gig, MTV started playing the “Epic” video on heavy rotation, and FNM were the trendy new band of the moment. ‘The Real Thing’ started selling bucketloads. Consequently, L’Amour, a Voivod stronghold that would have been full even without the other two bands, was utterly sold out, jam-packed before FNM hit the stage.
The crowd went apeshit. When they played, they were excellent, opening with “From Out of Nowhere,” playing a roaringly-received set of mostly ‘The Real Thing’ songs (plus old chestnut “We Care a Lot”) and closing with Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” Various guys from Soundgarden and Voivod jammed along.
photo by Greg Fasolino
Soundgarden played second, promoting their heavy, killer Louder Than Love record. I’d seen them not long before this, but they were definitely my favorite band in 89-90, so I had to see them (and Voivod) again. They played “Flower,” the pummeling “Gun,” “Loud Love,” “Hands All Over” and a bunch of other sludge-metal classics.
Snake from Voivod – photo by Greg Fasolino
During “Big Dumb Sex” Voivod guys sexually harassed Chris Cornell with an inflatable sex doll, and at one point Chris Cornell crawled out over the crowd hanging from the low ceiling and dropped right in to the packed, swirling pit. Mighty. They finished with Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottom,”,and the creeping, all-consuming doom-metal of “Beyond The Wheel” closed the show.
Photo by Greg Fasolino
Voivod headlined, touring behind that godlike Nothingface record, played almost that whole record, plus a few choice oldies and a cover of ZAPPA’s “What’s The Ugliest Part of Your Body?,” during which song drunken Soundgardeners and Faith No Mores jammed or just undulated around them like 60s bellydancers, with Mike Patton running around with a sex toy strapped to his head. Which was odd. Great night, amazing bands, and this one was up there with the best triple-bills ever.
Setlists
Faith No More: From Out Of Nowhere, Introduce Yourself, The Real Thing, Underwater Love, Zombie Eaters, We Care A Lot, Sweet Dreams, Surprise! You’re Dead!, Epic, Woodpecker From Mars, War Pigs
Soundgarden: Flower, Hands All Over Me-American Woman, Gun, Loud Love, Get On The Snakel Big Dumb Sex, Full On Kevin’s Mom, I Awake, Big Bottom, Beyond the Wheel
Voivod: The Unknown Knows, Nothingface, Tribal Convictions, X-Ray Mirror, Tornado, Pre-Ignition, Missing Sequences, Brain Scan, Into My Hypercube, Astronomy Domine, Inner Combustion, What’s The Ugliest Part of Your Body?
Few buildings have as storied a relationship with the Grateful Dead that Madison Square Garden does. The World’s Most Famous Arena quickly became the band’s “home” arena on the East Coast beginning with their first run here in January of 1979. Their welcomed stay would last until their final shows played there in 1994. Today, we celebrate the anniversary of the Grateful Dead’s third run at the Garden and only their sixth show ever here. This would be the first of only two Dead shows here this year. But its musical impact, thanks to an incredibly well preserved AUD recording, will last forever.
The opening tones of “Feel Like A Stranger” ring throughout the Garden to kickstart things this evening. The electricity immediately comes through the pristine recording on this one as the bands “get’s on with the show.” Guitarist Bob Weir’s voice is in fine form for the opener and throughout the rest of this show. Some typical brief, scat-like improv singing from him gives way to a short but tight little opening number. “Althea” then follows, with fellow guitarist Jerry Garcia getting his turn to serenade the New York faithful. A fierce early guitar lick sets just the right tone early as Garcia nimbly moves from singing to soloing and then back.
This is followed by a super-bluesy “C.C. Rider” that’s fueled by some great interplay between Garcia, Weir and Mydland on keys. A raucous Garden crowd makes their feelings well known afterwards. An extended tuning break might disrupt the rhythm for any other concert, but it’s not long before the arena is back in full sway and singing along with Garcia to “Ramble On Rose.” As expected, the “Just like New York City” line is met with resounding approval. Weir seems to begin “El Paso” by himself at first, but the band soon catches up and nails the rest of this first set staple. This one sees more impressively delicate guitar fills thrown in by Garcia who sounds clean and inspired from the onset this evening.
A return to the blues then follows, this one of the “Deep Elem” variety. After being taken off the shelf late last year in October, the vocal sections still sound a little unsure on the Dead’s take of this blues standard but the continual passionate guitar stylings from Garcia more than makes up for it. There’s nothing unsure about Weir’s vocal delivery on “Beat It On Down The Line” as the band rips through another first set staple.
Jerry’s vocals seem to run out of steam somewhat in the “Bird Song” that comes next. But the initial lackluster vocal section quickly gives way to some dazzling improv in the jam that follows with Garcia’s guitar leading the way. This seems to infuse some life into the band and the song’s dismount is much cleaner. Weir then re-assumes command and “New Minglewood Blues” closes out a rollicking opening stanza. Whether it was planned or not, the two guitarists wind up going tit-for-tat and alternate lead vocal duties between each song in the opening set.
But like any Dead show, the real “meat and potatoes” of the show are generally found in the second set. Tonight’s show at the Garden would be no different. After some clearly audible teases while tuning, the band takes their sweet time before launching into a majestic set-opening “China Cat Sunflower.” Garcia’s meandering guitar solos play perfectly atop a bed of fresh bass rhythms supplied by Phil Lesh. The slowly building jam eventually makes its seamless transition into “I Know You Rider” where both Weir and Garcia throw a little extra mustard on their respective parts. The second “China Cat” > “Rider” sequence ever played at MSG is certainly one to behold.
Out of the ashes of this blistering start comes “Samson and Delilah” with drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart wasting no time at all before launching into the percussive into. The accompanying jam is played at a near-frenetic pace that seems to have carried right over from the start of the set. Things finally cool down for a bit with “Ship Of Fools” that Garcia ably leads the group through with no issues. Even a slower number like this one seems to have the Grateful Dead Garden crowd enraptured.
Things perk back up in a big way in the second set with the two heavy hitters that follow. “Estimated Prophet” sees a fired up Weir complemented beautifully by Mydland and the signature tone of his electric keys on this number. A typically patient and slow-building jam then ensues with Jerry soon beginning to take the helm musically. When this reaches its conclusion, he switches tones and starts the opening chords to “Uncle John’s Band.” The Garden is again enthralled by these proceedings, with many clapping along in time.
Towards the end of the second’s set traditional “Drums” > “Space” section, some familiar chording can be heard. And before long, Lesh’s bellowing bass roars once again, signaling the high-intensity start of “The Other One.” The rest of the band follows Weir’s lead on vocals with this passionate take on a classic Dead number.
After this powerful, but fairly short “Other One,” begins to peter out, Garcia slows things down once more and the beginning of “Stella Blue” ensues. A large crowd that was in full rock mode, clapping along wildly just more than an hour ago, is now in near total silence listening to Jerry’s deliberate and soulful vocals – a testament to the emotional power of a Grateful Dead Garden show.
It sounds like Jerry wants to revisit and possibly finish “Uncle John’s Band” at the end of “Blue,” but they instead shift towards a “Good Lovin’” closer, the second set’s only cover song. The Garden crowd, once more, shows their love and appreciation afterwards before a “U.S. Blues” finishes things out, a proper call after so much blues-inspired songs and playing this evening. The Dead would go on to play one more show at MSG the following night. And thanks to the impeccable recording by Barry Glassberg below, we’ll be able to enjoy this one forever.
Grateful Dead – Madison Square Garden – New York City, NY 3/9/81
Set 1: Feel Like A Stranger, Althea-> CC Rider, Ramble On Rose-> El Paso, Deep Elem Blues, Beat It On Down The Line, Bird Song, Minglewood Blues
Set 2: China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider-> Samson & Delilah, Ship of Fools, Estimated Prophet-> Uncle John’s Band-> Drums-> The Other One-> Stella Blue-> Good Lovin’,
In February of 2014, Paul Simon and Sting began their ‘On Stage Together’ Tour in Houston, TX. The tour traveled across North America, Oceania, and Europe before concluding in Amsterdam in 2015. I was lucky enough to catch one of the shows on my birthday, March 4, 2014, at Madison Square Garden. That made this night even more special than it was already set out to be. The accompanying band was comprised of members of both Simon and Sting’s bands respectively.
“Welcome to our little experiment” Simon said to the crowd early on. After performing the first few songs together, the duo took turns alternating throughout the night, but still sprinkled in a few more songs together before they both took the stage once again for the encore. After the opening duets, Simon left the stage and Sting began his Police heavy solo block with “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, Englishman In New York”, “I Hung My Head and “Driven To Tears”. He ended his first set with “Walking on the Moon” which transitioned nicely into Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion”. After that, Sting left the stage and Simon began his first solo set with “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”. The rest of his set were all hits from his solo career like “Graceland”, “Still Crazy After All These Years” and “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.”
Before Paul left the stage again, they both did a magnificent cover of Sting’s “Fragile” from his Nothing Like the Sun album. Sting started his next set with a stripped down cover of Simon’s “America”. “Paul has been my mentor and teacher for many, many years” Sting told the audience. He then explained that the song reminded him of when he first came to America. Him, Stewart and Andy rented a station wagon in New York and drove across the country playing in dives and staying in shitty hotels. He said “Even though this song was written a decade before, it still reminds me of that time”. He then continued his set with some more Police classics like “Message in a Bottle” and “Roxanne” along with more solo hits like “They Dance Alone” and “Desert Rose.”
Another highlight of the night is when Simon appeared back on stage and helped end Sting’s set with another duet cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer”. The two sounded amazing as they harmonized on the song that was recorded over 40 years earlier.
For his next set, Paul dusted off the title track to his 1983 album Hearts and Bones as well as his 1991’s percussion driven “The Obvious Child”. I love this song but for some reason it is not a crowd favorite. But, needless to say he quickly reengaged the sold out crowd at The Garden with what is probably his most popular solo song “You Can Call Me Al” to end his final solo set.
The encore began with “Bridge Over Troubled Water” with Sting nailing the high notes on the first verse. Paul sang the second verse before transitioning right into “Every Breath You Take” as well as a vibrant version of “Late in the Evening”.
At this time the band walked off the stage and it appeared the show was about to end, but Simon and Sting then both picked up acoustic guitars and harmonized once again on the Everly Brothers “When Will I Be Loved” that they dedicated to the late Phil Everly.
The show was over three hours long and it was so good that I could have watched the entire performance again. This was one of the best collaborations I have ever seen between two iconic performers coming from different backgrounds and styles.
Paul Simon and Sting, Madison Square Garden, NYC – March 4, 2014
Setlist: Brand New Day@, The Boy in the Bubble@, Fields of Gold@, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic#, Englishman in New York#, I Hung My Head#, Driven to Tears#, Walking on the Moon#, Mother and Child Reunion@, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover*, Dazzling Blue*, Graceland*, Still Crazy After All These Years*, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard*, Fragile@, America#, Message in a Bottle#, The Hounds of Winter#, They Dance Alone#, Roxanne#, Desert Rose#, The Boxer@, That Was Your Mother*, Hearts and Bones*, Mystery Train*, Wheels*, The Obvious Child*, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes*, You Can Call Me Al*
Encore: Bridge Over Troubled Water@, Every Breath You Take@, Late in the Evening@, When Will I Be Loved?@
Greg Graffin is most recognized as the lead vocalist and songwriter for the punk rock band Bad Religion, which he co founded in 1979. Graffin has also earned a PhD from Cornell and teaches natural science courses at UCLA. He has written several books on the topics of evolution and religion. In 2017, he released his third solo album, Millport.
In support of the album he played 3 sold out shows at Rockwood Music Hall in the Lower East Side of Manhattan on February 27th, 28th and March 1st in 2017. The album was released on March 10th of the same year.
Ken Rockwood opened the venue in 2005. It is a very small and intimate venue that has 3 stages, a bar and a record label of the same name. Usually Graffin plays on bigger stages with his main band Bad Religion, so to see him perform these new songs up close and personal was a real treat for me. I have been a huge fan for over 20 years.
The small stage was packed with instruments you would not see at a BR show such as a banjo, fiddle and a madalin. The band featured Guitarist Tommy Andrews, Drummer Jamie Miller and David Bragger who played multiple instruments.
The first song they performed was “Backroads of my Mind” which happened to be one of the first singles off the album. After the song, Greg noted that these were the first shows he has ever played guitar in front of a group of people while standing up. You can tell he wasn’t lying because he was using an actual shoelace as a guitar strap which was somehow perfect for matching the Country Rock/Folk genre.
The band then went into several more songs off the album including “Too Many Virtues”, “Time of Need” and the electric guitar driver “Lincoln’s Funeral Train”. One of the highlights of the night was the harmony filled Bluegrass track “Echo on the Hill”. The song was a great showcase of the band’s skills, particularly Bragger’s mandolin playing.
Before the last song, Greg Graffin jokes “for everyone who waited all night for a Bad Religion song” as they went into an rearranged version of “Sorrow” from BR’s 2002 Process of Belief album. The new version sounded awesome in the tiny room as the whole crowd sang along. It was really a great moment for any Bad Religion fan. It was a perfect night and the audience really felt connected with the band. I enjoyed it so much that I went back the following night which was just as amazing. After the shows Greg even stuck around to take pictures and sign autographs for the fans. It was a truly magnificent experience.
1 year ago today on February 21st 2020, America played a sold out show at The Tilles Center on the LIU Post campus in Brookville, Long Island. This was the first show of the bands 50th Anniversary tour celebrating the release of their 1971 self titled album.
“A Horse With No Name,” originally titled “Desert Song” was released in the US a few weeks before the album came out and sold over a million copies being awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The album went platinum shortly after. The band was opening for acts like The Who, Elton John, Pink Floyd and worked with Beatles producer George Martin from 1974-1979.
The show was filled with hit after hit spanning through their 50 year and counting career. Gerry and Dewey sounded just as good today as they did when they started harmonizing 50 years ago. Songs from the setlist included “Tin Man,” “Ventura Highway,” “Sister Golden Hair” as well as a covers of The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” and The Mamas & Papas “California Dreamin’.” The 18 song set concluded with “A Horse With No Name.”
The band’s current lineup includes original founding members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, as well as Ryland Steen on drums, Steve Fekete on guitar and Richard Campbell on bass. The tour continues across United States and Canada until July when they head to Europe for shows in France, the U.K. and Germany. You can see all the tour dates here.
There is also a biography about the band written by Jude Warne, titled America The Band: An Authorized Biography that is available now.
Setlist: Tin Man, You Can Do Magic, Don’t Cross The River, Daisy Jane, Riverside, I Need You, Here, Ventura Highway, Eleanor Rigby, Cornwall Blank, Hollywood, The Border, Woman Tonight, Only In Your Heart, California Dreamin, Lonely People, Sandman, Sister Golden Hair, A Horse With No Name
Thursday, February 22, 2001 was a frigid night in Syracuse, yet Armory Square was alive and well. With no Phish for the foreseeable future, and no New Year’s Eve performance that past December, the energy this evening was unmistakably palpable as Trey Anastasio Band made their debut performance at Syracuse’s Landmark Theatre.
Only their second show of 2001’s Winter Tour, Trey Anastasio Band (TAB) offered fans a glimpse of what was to come from this new yet familiar cast of supporting musicians joining Trey, and how the void left by Phish’s hiatus would be filled by the band leader.
Trey had originally played with drummer Russ Lawton and bassist Tony Markellis in 8 Foot Fluorescent Tubes in 1998, making the trio the core of a band that continues to perform today, even through the pandemic. Trey added in a three-piece horn section alongside Russ and Tony, bringing in Andy Moroz (trombone), Giant Country Horns member Dave “The Truth” Grippo (saxophone) and Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet/tuba). The sextet was an early version of the TAB lineup Trey has modified over the years, and did not yet include soon-to-join members Ray Paczkowski, Natalie Cressman and Cyro Baptista.
The night began with the Chuck Berry number “In the Wee Wee Hours,” a perfect way to start an evening where the setlist was anyone’s guess. The first original of the night, “Push On ‘Til the Day” would follow, and when the horns stepped out into the light, the crowd roared with approval. “Push On” segued neatly into “Tube Top Flop” (later Tube Top Wobble), and then the emotion-heavy “Sunday Morning” (later “Ether Sunday”).
“Mozambique” was raucous, a funky tune with a big band-meets-Salsa sound; the prize in the early versions of these new compositions was how they allowed for room to improvise both individually and collectively. Althought not played this night, “Last Tube” would serve the same purpose in 2001 for TAB’s cohesiveness.
The first Phish cover of the night, “Gotta Jibboo” included Trey’s signature ‘whale call‘ making an appearance early in the song and continuing on a loop as the band found a groove to tuck into for nearly 12 minutes. In the final two minutes of “Jibboo,” listen closely and you can hear the band hinting at the song to follow, “Burlap Sack and Pumps,” soon to be a funky fan favorite.
To close the set, Trey dispatched the band and brought out his acoustic guitar for “Guyute.” With the audience whistling along, the attention focused on the Bad Lieutenant sitting center stage.
After a 43-minute set break, Set 2 began with a snare beat that perked ears up, signaling the start of Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Woman #12 & #35,” which the audience ate up and sang along to. An 18-minute “Sand” followed, with horns chiming in and Trey on keys, both soon to be staples of TAB shows.
The Band’s “It Makes No Difference” felt especially touching, as did Bob Marley’s “Mellow Mood,” a cover debuted by Phish just a few months prior in Albany, and which Trey admitted the band had only practiced once prior to the show. Dedicated to sound engineer Paul Languedoc, “Happy Coffee Song,” off Trey’s initial solo album One Man’s Trash, stayed true to the original recording and worked nicely for the larger band format.
Listen below, and if “Nothing But an E Thing” sounds familiar, that’s because it eventually came to be known as “Pebbles and Marbles,” debuted here as a fully instrumental piece, with horns taking turns on what amounts to the current “Pebbles and Marbles” intro section.
Rounding out Set 2 was another One Man’s Trash track, “At the Gazebo,” later outfitted for performance with orchestras and string quartets, and “Drifting,” which included band intros, notably for Tony “the Meaning of Life” Markellis. An encore of Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles” would close the night, one that saw the start of Trey’s next musical venture, one that continues to evolve and grow, 20 years later.
Trey Anastasio Band, Landmark Theatre, Syracuse, NY – February 22, 2001
Set 1: In the Wee Wee Hours [1], Push On ‘Til the Day > Tube Top Flop, Ether Sunday, Mozambique, Gotta Jibboo, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Guyute [2]
Set 2: Rainy Day Women #12 & 35[1], Sand, It Makes No Difference, Mellow Mood[1], Happy Coffee Song [3], Nothing But an ‘E’ Thing[3], At the Gazebo [4], Drifting
Encore: Will It Go Round in Circles
[1] TAB debut. [2] Trey solo acoustic. [3] Debut. [4] Trey acoustic. This show at the Landmark Theatre features the debuts of Happy Coffee Song and Nothing But an ‘E’ Thing, and the Trey Anastasio Band debuts of In the Wee Wee Hours, Rainy Day Women #12 and 35, and Mellow Mood. Gotta Jibboo contained Burlap Sack and Pumps teases. Trey performed Guyute solo acoustic. The Happy Coffee Song was dedicated to sound engineer Paul Languedoc. At the Gazebo also featured Trey acoustic.
After the show, fans headed out into the cold night around Downtown Syracuse, with plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from. Over at Armory High (also known as Styleen’s Rhythm Palace) Strangefolk was playing a post-show to a packed crowd. Trey stopped by around 12:15-12:30am, and joined the band for a jam in the song “Neighbor” before taking off. Give a listen hereand read below for Strangefolk guitarist Jon Trafton as he recalls the night.
That was such a fun night. The story behind Trey’s sit in is that a good friend of ours was Trey’s daughters’ nanny for several years around that time, and she put the bug in his ear leading up to that night. TAB was playing in Syracuse and the timing worked out perfectly because he was in a theater, so his show ended around 11 pm. We were in a bar with a 1 or 2 am curfew so it just lined up. We knew he might come by, but it was one of those things where we weren’t expecting it to happen. It was cool to look up mid-song and see him standing by the side door. I think we were already into our song “Neighbor,” which has a nice open jam section, so I waved him on. (Guitarist Luke) Patchen graciously switched to acoustic so Trey could play his Fender Strat, and off we went. My recall of it was that we stayed in kind of a mellow groove. I was sort of hoping we would launch into the stratosphere but we had a nice little floaty thing going for a little while. Then, just like he appeared, he was off again into the night.
Jon Trafton, Strangefolk
Strangefolk guitarist Luke Patchen Montgomery performing at Armory High, February 22, 2001. Photo/clipping via The Daily Orange
Although Trey was only on stage with Strangefolk for a few minutes, the memory and record of that night is one fans and band members alike have not forgotten. After the jam in “Neighbor,” Strangefolk worked into a “Norwegian Wood” jam, as Trafton puts it, “a way of saying, ‘Wow, that happened, and now he’s gone, this bird has flown.’” That tip of the hat from Strangefolk saw Trey take off into the night and head downstate for the next night’s show at Roseland Ballroom in New York City.
