It wasn’t supposed to be this way. In January 2014, Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks announced in a joint press release that 2014 would be their last year as part of the Allman Brothers Band. Both guitarists said they would stay with the band and honor all touring commitments through the years. When this year’s Beacon shows were announced, they were talked about in fan circles as being “the last run.” Derek Trucks said he wished the band would end on a high note in a “blaze of glory.” The first two nights of the run were great. Before the Beacon run began, Butch Trucks promised the band would play songs they hadn’t done in awhile, and they delivered. On the first night [March 7th], the band broke out the Dickey Betts-written instrumental True Gravity from the Seven Turns album for the first time since Dickey’s departure in 2000. They also played a new song from Warren called Dusk Till Dawn. On the second night [March 8th], they played Get On With Your Life [from Shades of Two Worlds], which they hadn’t played since 1992. The second set opened with a one-two punch from Eat a Peach – a full band version of Little Martha, out of which they ran into Blue Sky with Warren on the vocals. The biggest surprise of the night was the return of the Dickey Betts-written Seven Turns with Oteil Burbridge on lead vocals. Warren sang another new song which he wrote with Phil Lesh, Spots of Time. The band also played a soulful version of the Beatles song Rain, with Gregg singing lead. It was a quite unique setlist. After the second show, a strange thing happened. Butch Trucks got sick and missed the third show [March 11th]. It was the first Allman Brothers Band show he has missed…ever. His nephew [and Derek’s brother] Duane Trucks filled in for him.
Unlike Beacon runs in the past, there was a minimum of guest stars present during the run. The Juke Horns joined the Brothers for four nights - March 11th, 12th, 18th, and the 19th. Robert Randolph appeared with the Brothers on March 18th [they played One Way Out]. On March 19th, Lamar Williams Jr [son of the late ABB bassist Lamar Williams] appeared and took a verse on Midnight Rider. Other than those days, the Brothers had the Beacon stage to themselves. By all accounts, the band was fulfilling their promise to give it their all for their fans. They played songs they hadn’t played in a long time, they played songs from The Band and Van Morrison, and the guitarists were on fire. Then Gregg got sick.
What is a band to do without one of their namesakes? Call a lot of friends, of course. This is exactly what they did. Warren handled a lot of the vocals, but others [Jimmy Hall, Susan Tedeschi, Devon Allman, Junior Mack] pitched in to give Warren’s voice a break. Luckily the Allman Brothers are renowned for their epic jams, and they also had plenty of instrumentals to play.
March 21, 2014 Setlist
Mountain Jam1 / Statesboro Blues1 / Worried Down With the Blues / Every Hungry Woman / Seven Turns1 / Stand Back1 / Good Morning Little School Girl23 / Jessica / Little Martha-Blue Sky / One Way Out45 / Who’s Been Talking26 / Franklin’s Tower2 / Turn On Your Love Light7 / Franklin’s Tower-reprise / The Sky Is Crying7 / Hoochie Coochie Man / In Memory of Elizabeth Reed26 / JaMaBuBu / In Memory of Elizabeth Reed-reprise / Preachin’ Blues / Mountain Jam-reprise2
1w/ Susan Tedeschi – Vocals
2w/ Bill Evans – Saxophone
3w/ Cyril Neville – Percussion
4w/ Devon Allman – Guitar & Vocals
5w/ Bernie Marsden – Guitar
6w/ Kofi Burbridge – Flute
7w/ Susan Tedeschi – Guitar & Vocals
Kofi Burbridge and Rob Barraco took over keys and organ duties
March 22, 2014 Setlist
Done Somebody Wrong1 / Come And Go Blues / End of the Line / Dusk Till Dawn23 / Can’t Lose What You Never Had1 / True Gravity / All My Friends14 / She Caught The Katy5 / Revival56 / You Don’t Love Me5 / Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More7 / Black Hearted Woman / Feel So Bad4 / Dreams2 / Les Brers in A Minor / JaMaBuBu / Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad1368 / Les Brers in A Minor-reprise / Southbound13678
1 w/ Jimmy Hall – Harp
2 w/ Kofi Burbridge – Flute
3 w/ Jay Collins – Saxophone
4 w/ Susan Tedeschi – Guitar & Vocals
5 w/ Jimmy Hall – Harp & Vocals
6 w/ Susan Tedeschi – Vocals
7 w/ Junior Mack – Guitar & Vocals
8 w/ Jimmy Vivino – Guitar
Kofi Burbridge and Rob Barraco took over keys and organ duties
Favorite performances:
Can’t Lose What You Never Had [March 22nd] – Singer: Jimmy Hall. The Brothers don’t pull this Muddy Waters tune very often. They play it every now and then, and Jimmy Hall is a perfect fit. I saw him play with Gregg Allman twice – a great singer. He’s a pretty fair harp player as well.
Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More [March 22nd] – Singer: Junior Mack. This nugget from Eat a Peach one is a setlist regular. The last time I saw Gregg Allman in Pensacola, Jaimoe's Jasssz Band opened for him. Junior Mack is their singer, and a fine one at that.
Black Hearted Woman [March 22nd] – Singer: Warren Haynes. I’ve heard many live versions of this song from Idlewild South. This version is by far the most intense. Warren played like his life depended on it.
Little Martha-Blue Sky [March 21st] – Singer: Warren Haynes. Like the Eat a Peach original this is done mostly by the two guitarists, then the rhythm section joins for the last 30 seconds of Little Martha before the segue into Blue Sky. It’s always a pleasure to hear this tune from Dickey Betts.
Stand Back [March 21st] – Singer: Susan Tedeschi. Another Eat a Peach original – is this a trend? I’m not a member of the Church of Susan, but she’s just fine on this tune from Gregg Allman and Berry Oakley. Bass solo from Oteil Burbridge.
Come And Go Blues [March 22nd] – Singer: Warren Haynes. This Gregg Allman tune from Brothers And Sisters is another setlist regular. Warren has said on many occasions this is his favorite ABB song. Another Warren/Derek epic this one…
When Gregg went down with bronchitis, the Brothers still had six dates to play on this year’s Beacon run. The band played two of them, but Gregg was slow to recover from his illness, so the remaining four dates were postponed. It’s hard to have an Allman Brothers show without an Allman brother, so the band opted to reschedule in order to give the fans their money’s worth. The remaining four dates have been rescheduled for October this year. They added two more dates for October in addition to the original four, the last of which is October 28th, the day before the anniversary of Duane’s death. Coincidence? Perhaps – but maybe this is the band’s way of putting a stamp of finality to their existence. Be that as it may, but the “blaze of glory” will have to wait until October
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