They say you never really miss something until it’s gone and when it comes to the Allman Brothers Band, I guess I’m just going to have agree with that sentiment. Growing up listening to Eat a Peach is one of the many things I appreciate most about being a child of the 70s. Well, that and the joy of Sunkist soda, Charles Bronson movies and Marathon bars, that is.
But, back to the Allman Brothers…
I have few regrets in life, but two of them involve the ABB – the first is missing that Dickie Betts Live at 5 show in Albany in 2002. The set list was epic and I’ve only heard raves about that free show. Damn. The other thing I wish I hadn’t missed were the shows at the Beacon Theater in NYC where the Allmans were practically artists in residency. Why didn’t I ever make the effort to get to one or a dozen of those?!
For consolation, there are the memories of when I did see the band, mostly at SPAC, but with a couple of other venues thrown in over the years. The SPAC shows are particularly memorable because two of my three children were in attendance with me (on separate occasions) and it almost feels like those shows were a rite of passage for my family. Good memories all around.
While I’m sad that my youngest will never have the experience of jamming out to the ABB on the lawn in Saratoga, my fantasy about Gregg Allman is a bit more self-serving. In a couple of weeks, I’m going to see a band, Live at the Fillmore, down in Woodstock. They’re an Allman Brothers tribute band and I’m pretty psyched to check them out. I know that Gregg has been around the Hudson Valley in recent months (he played at a 4th of July party in Westchester) and I’ve been thinking that it would be amazing if he dropped in on the show in Bearsville. You know, did a cameo and rocked out a little bit. Can you imagine how incredibly thrilled every single person in attendance would be? It would make for a night that everyone could talk about for years, like those long ago nights on the road filled with groupies.
Come on, Gregg. It’s a Friday night show – how about you let your eagle fly?
DelSo 