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(DETROIT) -- Meet the new Dead. Same as the old Dead? Not entirely, but it's clear that amidst all the pre-Other Ones hand-wringing over who deserves the Grateful Dead's vaulted mantle -- and lucrative fan base -- in the hippie-rock realm (Phish? The Dave Matthews Band? Blues Traveler?), the Allman Brothers Band has quietly emerged as the band of choice for the tie-dyed, froogie dancers who are as happy twirling to "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" as they were to "New Speedway Boogie." |
To be sure, the Allman's show at the Pine Knob Amphitheater had many of the trappings of a Dead show or, this year, a Furthur Festival stop. The parking lot was dotted with out-of-state license plates belonging to those who are now "touring" with the Allmans. A few souls wandered the perimeter with one or two fingers in the air, looking for a "miracle" (i.e., a free ticket rather than the readily available ones at the box office). Incense burned by tailgate barbecues, while inside the venue tapers set up their microphones and compared set lists from previous shows.
The Allmans are perfectly aware of what's going on, too. The brightly colored tapestries surrounding the stage and projections on a rear-screen stage evoked a certain Fillmore flavor (and don't forget that trademark mushroom logo). The group even played an instrumental portion of the Dead's "Franklin's Tower," which guitarist Dickey Betts dedicated to the late Jerry Garcia, as an introduction for their own "Blue Sky."
But the Allmans bring something else to the party -- a gritty Southern blues sensibility that makes the proceedings more rootsy than trippy. "Everybody loves the blues," Gregg Allman cackled before delivering "Stormy Monday" in his gruff, leathery voice, and that certainly proved true during renditions of "Statesboro Blues," Betts' "Change My Way of Thinking" and an acoustic version of "Steady Rollin' Man."
This time out, the Allmans have more fully integrated its newest members, guitarist Jack Pearson and bassist Oteil Burbridge, who were hired during the spring of 1997 to replace Gov't Mulers Warren Haynes and Allen Woody. Pearson's light touch and fluid, jazzy style -- not to mention his dynamic slide playing -- was less gunslinger-oriented than Haynes but still complements Betts' six-string explosions and even seemed to bring a bit more subtlety out of the veteran. Burbridge, meanwhile, fills the bottom with his own jazz- and R&B-steeped runs, jogging his bass through the formidable rumble of the Allman's three percussionists.
The group's two-hour and 20-minute set was both a crowd-pleaser
and enlightener, blending a handful of hits ("Blue Sky," "Melissa,"
"Midnight Rider") with favorite album tracks ("Ain't Wastin' Time
No More," "Don't Keep Wonderin' "), while the half-hour "Elizabeth
Reed" and "High Falls" have become epics of virtuostic soloing -- a
little more in-your-face than the Dead but with more than enough
texture to keep its particular lovelight burning from start to
finish. (Gary Graff)