The Allman Brothers Band – Raleigh, NC – 08/11/2007
A Laid Back Night
So after taking last year off from seeing them, Lady L and I decided it was time once again to spend an evening with The Allman Brothers Band at Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh. We were a lil worried because we had some record hot days the days before but the weather actually cooled off a bit and opened up to be a delightful evening.We arrived late so we missed Mofro but from what I heard, they were really good. I can only hope they were better than The Drive By Truckers. Don’t get me wrong. They weren’t “bad” in a sense. I actually quite liked their music. They really reminded me of those old Georgia bands like The Georgia Satellites and Drivin’ N Cryin’. It was just that the vocals had so much southern drawl and the lyrics just weren’t doing it for me. I mainly played w/ my buddy’s son on the lawn and shot the shit w/ him for most of the set.
Then it was time for the Brothers! Gone was the exciting sound of the voice yelling, “Alright! It’s The Allman Brothers Band!”. The house lights went down, the band took the stage and they launched right into “Les Brers In A Minor” from
“Eat A Peach”. It was absolutely beautiful with Derek Trucks practically being Duane Allman incarnate. Up next was “Statesboro Blues” which was so much fun to hear so early in the set. I knew it was a gonna be a great show but for some reason, felt like it was gonna be different. And different it was…
The show, while very good, was VERY VERY mellow. Lady L. and I sat in our chairs for the duration of the show and just took in every note. Now we had been to shows in the past where we just danced our asses off from opening song to encore. This night was a really “listen” night. I heard the songs in a live setting and actually paid attention to every note and every lyric. It also made me realize just why I love this band so fucking much. Gregg singing “Old Before My Time” off of Hittin’ The Note was just gorgeous and to hear those lyrics coming from a man that has seen it all just really made it magical. The only downer for me was their re-arrangement of “Southbound” which I found to be kinda annoying. The “Mountain Jam>Smokestack Lightning>Mountain Jam” closer was really nice with a “Revival” encore which Lady L. was REALLY hoping to hear.
The Brothers are a band that, much like The Grateful Dead, have many sides and many songs. This was a side of them that I had never seen but was really glad to see. It’s a pretty powerful thing to be able to play to thousands yet feel like you are the only one being played to. It was almost as if they were in our living room, or back yard, and just letting us listen. The Allman Brothers Band are a band you can listen to and by doing just that, you can fall in love!
The Allman Brothers Band
Raleigh, NC
08/11/2007
Walnut Creek AmphitheaterLes Brers in A Minor
Statesboro Blues
Ain’t Wasting Time No More
Woman Across the River
Old Before My Time
Stand Back
Southbound*
The Weight
Dreams
Don’t Keep Me Wondering
Melissa
Same Thing >
Drums**>
Mountain Jam>
Smokestack Lightning***>
Mountain Jam
Encore
Revival
*John Neff (Drive By Truckers) on guitar and Duane Trucks on drums
** Oteil on drums
*** JJ Grey (Mofro) on harmonica & vocals on one verse
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