B List: Shows to Fatten Your Allmans Trip
The Allman Brothers Band kicks off its annual NYC residency tonight, and it’s safe to say the vibe’s a little muddled this year. No, we know: it’s going to be the usual insanity & balls-out excitement once the boyos get humming, the guests start arriving, the guitars start wailing & the roof starts raising.
But as if the move to the United Palace hasn’t jarred longtime Beacon goers enough – and it’s jarred the band, plenty, as Butch Trucks told us recently – last week came the news that the band would cancel the final five shows of the run, dialing the total number of shows back to eight and leaving more than a few ticketholders, some with travel plans already booked, shorthanded.
Be that as it all may, that good ol’ “people can you feel it” Allmans vibe still permeates NYC this month, and as always, there are plenty of shows going on around town that, intentionally or not, latch on to that vibe and draw in a few extra concertgoers they might not otherwise.
Pickins are a little slimmer this year on the post-show and official afterparty front, but here’s a selection of NYC-area goings-on during the United Palace run (March 11-20) that should appeal to Allmans fans looking for a little extra mojo.
In chronological order:
1.) Bowlive – tonight, tomorrow and Saturday 3/13
WHERE: Brooklyn Bowl (Williamsburg)
TIME: 9 p.m.
COST: $10-$12.50
Soulive’s 10-night Brooklyn residency, dubbed Bowlive, has been positively raging, and if you were in the house Wednesday night you know that a number of the Brothers showed up to blow it out. There are three more nights starting tonight, with the announced guests, respectively Thursday to Saturday, ?uestlove and Rahzel, Marco Benevento, and DJ Logic, with many more expected. We know the Allmans will bring their A-Game, but if they falter at all at United Palace, their crown for kickass-ing-est NYC March residency goes to Soulive for 2010.
READ ON for eight more shows to fatten your Allmans trip…
2.) Jay Collins Band, tonight
WHERE: Rodeo Bar
TIME: 10 p.m.
COST: Free
Jay Collins is a killer saxophone player, skilled in as many different idioms (jazz, blues, funk, soul, rock, R&B…) as bands of which he’s a member. He’s sat in with the Brothers a number of times over the years and continues to appear with Gregg Allman & Friends, the Levon Helm Band (he’s married to Helm’s daughter Amy) and plenty of others. If you’re not going to the United Palace tonight or feel like a nightcap on your way back, swing by the honky-tonking goodness that is the Rodeo Bar, where the Collins Band, a not infrequent act here, will be cooking.
3.) Levon Helm Band, tomorrow night
WHERE: Wellmont Theater (Montclair, N.J.)
TIME: 8 p.m.
COST: $35-$75
Speaking of ol’ Levon, the word is he’s starting to sing with greater regularity again after he lost his voice in June 2009. Levon and Co., along with special guest Donald Fagen of Steely Dan and the Duke and the King opening, hit the Wellmont on Friday night. If you’re at the Allmans, it means you can’t make this one, but if it’s an off night for you, the Wellmont’s a half-hour’s drive from the city and a kind place. Take a load off.
4.) Dave Mason and Dr. John, tomorrow night
WHERE: Capitol One Bank Theater at Westbury (Westbury, NY)
TIME: 8 p.m.
COST: $33-$50
A nice looking bill if you’re not already going to United Palace: Mason can be very on when he’s on, and Dr. John still proffers a tasty musical gumbo when the occasion calls for it. Dickey Betts was originally supposed to be on this bill – Jambase.com still lists him – but Betts has apparently semi-retired from the road as of late December and will no longer be appearing.
5.) Big House Museum Benefit – Sunday 3/14
WHERE: B.B. King’s (Times Square)
TIME: 7 p.m.
COST: $12 advance, $15 d.o.s.
This could be a fun one. It’s a benefit concert for the Big House Museum in Macon, Ga. – a place of, oh, a bit of historical significance for the Brothers – and it’s also the first off night for the Allmans run, so it’s safe to say that a band member or two could stray on over. On the official bill are Georgia’s Lingo, and two of my NYC favorites, Leroy Justice and the Jamie McLean Band. Yonrico Scott (of Derek Trucks Band and others) is among the announced guests.
6.) Robert Cray Band, Friday, 3/19
WHERE: B.B. King’s (Times Square)
TIME: 8 p.m.
COST: $50
Always an inspired performer, Cray would be a worthy option for next Friday if you’re not already booked for United Palace on the same date. He’s no stranger to the Allmans camp, either; among other paths crossed, Cray toured as an opener for Eric Clapton the same time that Trucks was in the band.
7.) Kung Fu, Friday 3/19
WHERE: Sullivan Hall (West Village)
TIME: 9 p.m.
COST: $10
It’ll end up Sullivan Hall’s only official post-Allmans show this year (they did have two more scheduled for 3/26 and 3/27), but for jamband fans, it’s a doozy: Kung Fu, a supergroup consisting of bassist Dave Livolsi (T. Lavitz), guitarist Tim Palmieri (The Breakfast), ubiquitous saxman Kris Jensen, drummer Adrian Tramontano (The Breakfast) and keyboardist Todd Stoops (RAQ). Who knows what kind of jammy racket they’ll be cooking up – The Breakfast itself, along with Feaver Train and Sharif, is also on the bill – but given the personnel involved, it’ll probably be good.
8.) Junior Mack, various
WHERE: Terra Blues (West Village)
TIME: Check website
COST: Check website
In addition to being an NYC blues scene staple and a sizzling guitar player, Junior Mack is also a frequent guest of the Brothers and a touring member of Jaimoe’s Jasszzz Band. He plays several times a week – in acoustic configurations, and with his own band and the T-Blues band – at West Village blues haunt Terra Blues. Members of the ABB have been known to stop by — and Mack has been known to sit in with the band — during March residencies past, but even if neither of those things happens, Mack is as reliable as it guests in the Big Apple for regular blues healing.
9.) Marco Benevento & Friends, Monday 3/15
WHERE: Bar 4 (Park Slope)
TIME: 8 p.m.
Marco’s an area resident, and when he’s not on crazy adventures with his own touring band, with Joe, with Surprise Me Mr. Davis, or any of the other zillion combos he plays with, he often turns up at Park Slope’s postage stamp-sized Bar 4 to stretch out on keyboards and dip into some of his favorite covers material. He’s there every Monday this month and these are loosely described “& Friends” shows, so who knows who’s going to show up.
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