| |
When
you think of March Madness, you may think of College Basketball’s
Big East Conference.
Allman Brothers fans know it for their legendary two week stint
that they spend each year, at New York’s Beacon Theater.
This
year the March Madness came a little early when Dickey Betts
and the Great Southern performed at Long Island’s Mulcahy’s
Pub & Music Hall.
When
Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident in 1971, Betts stepped
up as co-leader of the band with
Gregg Allman. The Allman Brothers were no longer just a blues
band. Suddenly, Dickey’s influence brought the ABB into
the realm of country rock, with songs like “Blue Sky”,
“Ramblin’ Man”, “Southbound” “Where
It All Began” etc.
Twenty
four years later, Betts “still pickin’ on that red
guitar” shows why he’s still one of rock’s
guitar heroes. DB and his band the Great Southern rolled on stage
and shifted into high gear with “High Water”,
an instrumental from 1975’s “Win, Lose or Draw”
album. Betts and the band then gave a nod to Jerry Garcia
with a little “Franklin’s Tower” jam into “Blue
Sky”. This set the tone for the evening. A highlight of
the
night was a ripping fifteen minute jam of “In Memory of
Elizabeth Reed” Betts along with guitarist and
long time pal Dangerous Dan Toler took a page from the Duane and
Dickey school of trading off guitar
leads. Keyboardist Mike Kach took lead vocal on “Steady
Rollin’ Man”. I couldn’t help notice that his
vocals
were sort of Gregg-like, only not as seasoned, but his keyboard
playing was far superior. The Great Southern is
as tight a band as you could want. With Dickey at helm it brings
you back to where it all began.
|
|
