An Evening Peakin' at The Beacon

A mushroom is a normal food common to most people as a pizza topping or a part of a salad, but on March 22, to the people at New York’s Beacon Theater, mushrooms had different significance. The mushroom, or ‘shroom, symbolized a more happy, peaceful, and chill society… precisely why The Allman Brothers Band have used the ‘shroom as a trademark for close to thirty years. On this, their last show of fifteen at the New York landmark, the stage was accompanied by four tremendous silk tapestries of ‘shrooms in different psychedelic colors.

Nevertheless, the crowd did not need the still life banners of peace and happiness, as the show itself provided these needs in abundance. Coming on fifteen minutes after they were announced, the Allman Brothers blew the crowd into eternal happiness with "In memory of Elizabeth Reed." The song, a long time show-starting staple, was played in front of a large screen which featured different psychedelic images which added to the total effect of the show. As the first set progressed, the band played more and more towards the crowd. When they received less than favorable cheers from the crowd after one song ended without a significant jam session, they responded with a very long rendition of the fan favorite "Blue Skies." The jam part alone lasted at least twenty minutes, with the entire crowd on their feet dancing and swaying to the guitars. A random person, who seemed as though he had been enjoying a certain type of vegetation, said, "That was like I just died, man, and that song brought me back." How true. The image of an eagle soaring over a blue sky which was projected on the back screen contrasted with the psychedelic atmosphere the band was trying to create, but no one seemed to mind; the music was too good to think of anything else.

As the first set progressed, the background screen flashed images of the magical mushshrooms with the bands name, along with different tie died and multicolored images. These images were always kept in time with the music and the multicolored laser lights which were flashing all over the place. In the midst of it was Dickey Betts and Jack Pearson squaring off, feuding with their guitars. After one played a killer solo, the other had to play an equal or even better solo to match - truly a spectacular sight. Greg Allman, the only Allman brother left, could have performed better with his jams on the keyboard, however the fifteen previous shows obviously left him tired. Fortunately, what he lacked in terms of jamming, he made up for with his soul, which is the base of The Allman Brothers Band.

After a short intermission, the second set opened with a Betty Boop cartoon. The highly resplendent cartoon, was followed by a five song acoustic set featuring just Dickey, Jack, and basist Oteil Burbridge. They played a couple of blues covers including a fabulous rendition of an Ella Fitzgerald classic. Greg then returned to the stage, grabbed a guitar and sang a wonderful acoustic "Melissa" with his band brothers. The slow set did not exactly wow the crowd until this point, but "Melissa" got the entire crowd on their feet. After "Melissa," the full band returned and played an old Otis Redding song and their jamming continued to equal the quality of the first set.

During the third set, the band gave a tribute to famous musicians who have passed on. Amidst the song "Crazy Love," the screen behind the band carried pictures of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Greg’s brother and original Allman Brother Band, member Duane Allman, and former Grateful Dead lead singer Jerry Garcia. While Duane’s picture got a large reaction from the crowd, the reaction to the picture of Jerry almost drowned out the playing of the band.

The rest of the set was composed of mostly early songs by the band. The set was capped with an insane jam session to "Revival." The fifty minute long session included a half hour drum solo by drummers Butch Trucks, Jaimoe, and Marc Quinones. The band then returned and finished the set, after which the band returned for only one encore which was quite disappointing. The encore lacked intensity, was too short (as they only played one song), and featured a virtually unknown song. The encore was the only low point of the show.

One of the most endearing aspects of the Allman’s show was the crowd, full of Peachheads. Although the show was in the heart of Manhattan, the crowd was certainty atypical of New Yorkers. Everyone was incredibly nice, and people were having conversations with every person they bumped into. No one was being pushed or shoved the way people usually are during rock concerts. Everyone made sure that everyone else was having a good time. This all added up to, really a great, great show.