When The Allman Brothers Band took control of the stage shortly after 8
p.m., the audience came to their feet, where they remained, up until
intermission, dancing and swaying and singing along like members of some
secret Peach cult, like worshippers at the altar of Allman. One thing
was certain, I had found out where all the Deadheads went after The
Grateful Dead retired.


The Brothers opened with "True Gravity," pulling out all the stops in a
fifteen minute version of the tune, before launching into the classic,
"Ain't Wastin' Time No More."  Dickey Betts, his hair having been cut
short again somewhere between March's Beacon run and now, laid dow some
compelling slide guitar to carry us into "You Don't Love Me." This was
the first of many shining moments for new member Derek Trucks, who
burned across the fretboard with such slide precision, you'd swear you
were listening to Duane Allman himself. All I could think was that it
must be somewhat strange for Gregg and Dickey, as they look over to the
side and see this tall, thin, twenty-year-old with almost the same stage
presence as Duane, playing like Duane. Awesome.


Dickey then brought out Hot Tuna, setting up Jorma on guitar beside him,
Oteil turning the bass duties over to Casady, and Harvey subbing for
Jaimoe. Pete Sears took a seat behind the piano, right next to Gregg on
the Hammond. The jam band kicked off a red-hot version of "One Way Out"
that had the audience in a frenzy, beginning to the end of Gregg's
final  "..I don't know." With Paul T. Riddle and Butch Trucks on drums,
the Allmans plunged into "Back Where it All Begins," before returning
Jaimoe to the drum kit for "What's Done is Done." Then came the familiar
strains of "Franklins Tower," which has become a regular intro to the
awe inspiring "Blue Sky," to close the first set.


A major footnote must be added at this point. To say that the Allman's
Liquid Light Show is anything other than fabulous would be an
understatement. From the swirling sixties-psychedelia of colors, to the
films of flying eagles, desert landscapes, Native American imagery and
live video feed of the band as they played. the images all mingled
together to create a work of living art worthy of inclusion in this, the
30th Anniversary Tour of The Allman Brothers Band.


Intermission featured a 1920's era Betty Boop cartoon, "I Want to Be a
Cowboy." It appeared that a few of the "altered" folks in the audience
were peaking toward visual overload at about this time, and they were
grappling with the fact that there actually was a black and white
cartoon playing out onstage.


When the second set began, everyone once again stood up and started
dancing. It was amazing. They kept dancing straight through to the end
of the show. Of course, by the second set, the sun had gone to sleep,
and the moon had moved into position, making it a little cooler outside.


The set began with a couple of acoustic tunes. First came "Seven Turns,"
with Dickey singing his heart out. The band sounded excellent. Next was
"Mellissa," which featured some fabulous twin lead work between Dickey
and Derek. Next, the band set Paul Riddle back on Jaimoe's drum kit,
Jaimoe was on Butch's, and Butch and Marc were both playing percussion.
It was better than a Deadhead drum circle under a full moon. The
percussion ruled, as Dickey cranked into "Jessica." The boys  delighted
everyone by including a short "Mountain Jam" right in the middle. 


Dickey's "Change My Way of Living" and Gregg singing "End of the Line"
were next, sounding as fresh as ever. The Allmans seemed to be playing
with a more youthful vitality these days, perhaps because of Derek, or
maybe because they were just happy to have old friends like Paul Riddle
and Hot Tuna around to play with. "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" was a
show stopper. Astounding guitar work from both Dickey and Derek lead
into an awesome "drums" segment where Butch, Jaimoe and Marc let it
shine brightly for the fans. Next, Oteil took center stage with his bass
solo, which features some mighty fine scat-singing that met with
thunderous applause, before leading the band back into "Liz Reed." The
set closed out with a fiery version of "Revival," and the band returned
to the stage for an encore with "Nobody Left to Run With Anymore."
Fourth of July fireworks peppered the Charlotte skyline with color, as
the concert ended.


Drained, both mentally and physically, we made our way out of the
Pavilion. It was crystal clear to me at this point that these road
warriors were no where near ready to hang it up. The new t-shirts that
fan club icon Lana had made up said it best, "Never Trust Any Band Under
Thirty." I can dig it.


-Michael B. Smith