Devon Allman, son of Gregg Allman, and Duane Betts, son of Dickey Betts, are the driving force behind the Allman Betts Band. They play a similar style of music popularized by their respective fathers - blues-based southern rock with some significant jam opportunities - and have a tight band featuring three guitars, awesome keyboards, and two drummers. Along with Tedeschi Trucks Band, they are filling that space created by the Allman Brothers Band, and continuing the tradition of electric blues. They recently rolled into the Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton for four shows, and we caught one of them. It was a really solid show, primarily relying on originals but also covering the Dead's "Shakedown Street" and the Allman Brothers Band's "Blue Sky." It's interesting to be able to see this band playing in a tiny club like the Funky Biscuit. A couple of words about the Biscuit. A small club with superior acoustics, the FB has been sponsoring live shows since Gov. Desantis allowed indoor activities to resume many months ago. We've now been to three shows at the FB, but this is the only one featuring a national act. That's not to say that other national bands aren't rolling through, such as Max Weinberg, Molly Hatchet, and Samantha Fish, but I just haven't had the chance to see the other bands due to my own personal schedule. But can we tip our hats to the FB for bringing live music back from the lockdowns? They do it safely, and oh yeah, the food is really good, too. Back to the show. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of partial to a big three guitar sound. And having a couple of drummers/percussionists leads to a driving background that, when done well, is fantastic. Allman Betts have this down - the band has clearly been playing and rehearsing as they were tight and rolled through their set. It's been a while since I saw a good band at the top of their game, but this was one of those nights. It wasn't cheap, but it was fun, and once the rest of the country opens up, these guys will go back to playing bigger theaters. This was a great opportunity to see an up-and-coming band in a small intimate space. And it was a triumph over COVID, and who the heck isn't ready for that? It's still kind of weird to see band members playing in masks. As the pictures show, it wasn't a universal mask thing going on up on stage, and given the ages of the band members, I get it. I hope to quit commenting on masks pretty soon as the vaccines are rolling out. How about those tunes? Both are good and give you a sense of what this band is all about. I started taking a video of "Blue Sky" but was told partway through that I wasn't allowed to video. OK, understood, but that's a part of the concert experience these days. Gotta run for now. I'm trying to get back to posting every couple of days, but bear with me as I knock the rust off. I hope you are now gearing up for the post-lockdown days - my advice is to get comfortable at your own pace, but the heady days of $100 roundtrip airplane flights, $1.69 gas, cheap hotels and seeing bands like Allman Betts in a tiny club are quickly coming to a halt. Enjoy it before the inflation boom hits.
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AuthorMy name is Bill, and I live in the greater Philadelphia area. I love music, and I have a lot of opinions. This site is primarily focused on music, but sometimes I get off track. I hope you enjoy. Archives
November 2020
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