Falling All Over NYC for ABB
Its that amazing time of the year - Peaking At The Beacon. Mullets, Hippies, and other fools all decend on New York City for Southern Rock 'n Roll. The area around 74th and Broadway is alive with those who love the sound of the Allman Brothers Band. I have not been in two years so, I decided to head back. What a mistake I made skipping this event.
I had three friends named Rob, Jeff, and Mark that wanted to see the show. We got two pairs of tickets on the day of sale. We've been waiting for this day. Mark and I drove from Philly to Piscataway to met Jeff. We took the train from the NB over to Penn Station. Here, we met up with Rob who was coming from Long Island. The plan was to enjoy the early March afternoon down at the Seaport. A pub crawl was scheduled from 1-6pm. What a great way to pre-game!
The line to enter Pier 17 was long but moved quickly. We were handed a small white plastic cup that handily listed the participating bars. We grabbed our first beverage at a bar on the outside of the Pier. Once inside, the situation became quite unorthodox. Pier 17 is essentially a mall - a mall with bars. I felt for the random familys arriving to buy jr. a new pair of sneakers. Including ourselves, the place was "crawling" with intoxicated morons. People setup flip cup in the food court. Silly. We purchased most of our drinks from an asian pretzel stand. Incredible. This extravaganza continued till the sunset. We stopped by a bar on the outside for the final use of the plastic cup. It was the number 9 that took us to the Upper West Side.
Any trip to the Beacon is not complete without a stop over at the West Side Brewing Company. They always play the music of the band performing that day. Continuously. We passed the signature black bear at the entrance into nothing but Allman Brothers Band Music. The party lasted here untill 745ish. We walked over a few blocks to the Beacon to catch the start of the show.
Upon trying to enter the Beacon, a certain scene comes to mind. Ever seen Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? When Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo try to enter the bazooka circus? I bet it looked like that... I straight fell in front of the entrance. Mark, seemingly uncaring, side stepped my behavior. Amazing, they actually allowed us to enter.
Our seats were somewhere. I sat in them once - Upper Balc Row M. We transformed the steep stepped isle into dance party 2005. Lets get to that setlist...
Set 1:
Revival
Leave my blues at home
Done Somebody Wrong
Hot lanta
Just aint Easy(No Jaimoe or Marc)
End of line
44 Blues(Hubert Sumlin guitar, Warren on vocals)
Smokestack lightning(Warren on vocals, Hubert on guitar, no Marc)
Instrumental Illness
Set 2:
Oncoming traffic(Gregg on Grand Piano)
Delta Blue
These Days(Gregg and Warren acoustic, Gregg vocals, Warren backing vocals)
Death Letter(Warren and Derek)
Electric:
Soulshine
Dreams(With Jay Collins on Sax)
Rockin' Horse>Drums
No one left to run with
Encore: One Way Out
Crap.
Yay Revival Opener!!! "Love is in the air..." I had to sit down for a second, but jumped into the dance mix by the end. The rest of the show's beginning was solid. I heard Friday was mellow, but this one started rockin. I was excited for my first "Hot Lanta." "44 Blues" was torn up. The first set ended with our minds wanting more more more.
I spent the set break wandering around the many levels of the Beacon. I said hello to Eric, and he was laughing at me. I found Teresa. I guess the rest of the crew loaded up on beverages. I really enjoy set breaks. They give you a chance to prepare for the ending madness.
The start of the second set was definitely mellow but rather enjoyable. It was awesome to see Gregg Allman perform on a grand piano. He's voice is still kicking. "These Days" acoustic was unreal, but enough pussyfooting around, it was time to Rock 'n Roll.
Back to the screaming smooth warm guitars with "Soulshine." Not a bad idea. It was now the show took a turn for the stars. Dreams!!! YES!!! This song in unforgettable in a live environment. By this time, Jeff, Mark, Teresa, and I were going no holds barred on the dance floor/entirely unsafe wet steep steps. I believe everyone took a spill at least once. The run to close the set was just perfect. Two nights in a row of fantastic percussion sections makes me smile. The closing "No one left to run with" left my voice hoarse. Then it happened, the one of the two songs I want to really really hear during the run was dropped - "One Way Out." I'll tell you what the vocal chords were strained, the feet left blistered, and the mind tried from balance concentration. Everything was Beautiful.
Too bad we did have to go out that door. The night cap was back over at the West Side Brewing Company. We left in scrambled disarray. I had entered a single mindset that only wanted to catch a train back to dirty jersey. No one was in any shape to be stuck in NYC till 6am. After a very large cheeseburger was downed by Rob and Jeff, we found our way back to Penn Station with a few minutes to spare before our train's departure. Good for us.
The first Saturday night of the run was complete. We had been blessed with excellent music and one random afternoon of silliness. Does NYC ever get old? I think not. I have to say, its nothing short of a miracle we survived. I was so happy to see Teresa and the others whose paths I crossed. The highlights for me were undoubtly "Dreams" and "One Way Out." Only one week to wait for the repeat.
Comments
we arrived at penn with 22 minutes to spare to be exact...because, you know...someone knew the last train ran at 1:41...now dimeon knows for next time...and maybe i will be able to enjoy my phenomenal cheeseburger next time (it was well worth the 10 bucks)...anyway...it was a blast, glad to join in on the fun...i still can't believe they were giving away free meals at the west side...
Jeff, that Burger was unreal. Simeon belives that everyone took a spill atleast once. he believes that because he doesn't want to be the only one who fell down. I didn't fall. I think simeon forgot what else happened at the west side brewing company and why we can never go in there again because of him. I wonder why nobody else was dancing like we were. Dimeon is a tool!
