03/27/07 Allman Brothers Band @ Beacon Theatre, New York, NY

Set 1: Don't Keep Me Wonderin', Trouble No More, Woman Across The River, Old Before My Time, Come and Go Blues, Maydell, Stand Back, Spoonful1, Instrumental Illness
Set 2: I Shall Be Released2, Anything Goes3, Statesboro Blues4, Gambler's Roll, Hoochie Coochie Man, Les Brers In A Minor
Encore: One Way Out5

1 with Col. Bruce Hampton, vocals; Audley Freed, guitar
2 with Susan Tedeschi, vocals; Kevin Kinney, vocals & guitar; Brian Mitchell, keyboards
3 with Susan Tedeschi, vocals; Yon Rico Scott, drums
4 with Brian Mitchell, organ; Gregg, piano
5 with Audley Freed, guitar; Matt Abts, drums

This was my first and only show attended of the grand tradition that is The Allman Brothers early Spring run at the Beacon Theatre. March Madness peakin' at the Beacon!

The group played a staggering 190 shows there over a 20 year span starting in 1989. This year, they had to move uptown after the Beacon booked an extended Cirque Du Soleil stand, but the Brothers will be back at the Beacon in 2011, this time competing with a Furthur run in Midtown.

02/15/06 Phil Lesh & Friends @ Beacon Theater, New York, NY

02/15/06 Beacon Theater, New York, NY
Phil Lesh (bass, vocals), Joan Osborne (vocals), Larry Campbell (guitar+more)
Rob Barraco (keys), Barry Sless (guitar, pedal steel), Jeff Sipe (drums)
Set 1: Passenger > Doin' That Rag, Stagger Lee > Mr Charlie, The Hardest Part > The Weight, Cosmic Charlie
Set 2: Jam > Shakedown Street > New Speedway Boogie, Cats Under The Stars > Magnolia Mountain > Uncle John's Band > Morning Dew, Truckin' > Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion
E: I Am The Walrus

My first time at the lovely Beacon Theater, as well as my first time puffing with the old man. Here's what I had to say about it at the time.

Oh yeah and in regards to that blog about my dad and drugs, I finally smoked with my old man for the first time. I'm pretty sure I was talking with my friend Anna about this a few hours before it happened. I was lying on the couch minding my own business when my dad called and offered to treat me to the last night of (former/current Grateful Dead bassist) Phil Lesh & Friends at the Beacon Theater. I'd never been there and I can't ever say no to a free show so I hopped on a train and met my dad there. We got tickets at the door and had front row seats in the upper most section for the first few songs. As soon as the music started, joints were being passed left and right (gotta love hippies!). Although my dad told me he had a joint rolled (and that he smoked on the way down), I passed to him first (courtesey of the baby boomers to my left). It was, predictably, a little awkward (I tend to get paranoid and introspective when I'm high, not exactly the mindset you want to have around your parents), but it had to happen sooner or later. Better sooner than later, plus I got a free show out of the deal. As for the music itself, it was a delightful array of Grateful Dead classics (Shakedown Street, Truckin', Uncle John's Band, etc.) and classic rock stalwarts (The Band's "The Weight" and The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus) played with an astonishing level of musicianship by some of the best in the business. Joan "What If God Was One of Us?" Osbourne was on vocals. The Beacon Theatre, which I had heard of, did not disappoint. Perfect sound and sightlines from everywhere in the joint (pun intended), plus stunning art deco decor. I can't wait to be "Peakin' at the Beacon," by which I mean tripping face.

I'm sure there's more to be said, but it'll have to wait for the next time I get motivated to record it all (when it rains it pours, folks).