MUSIC REVIEW
Slow-starting Allmans find the pace
By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 06/20/98

MANSFIELD - First shows of any tour are not guaranteed barnburners.
Exhibit A: last night's summer opener by the Allmans Brother Band. The
Allmans didn't come out rocking, but rather eased into the tour,
building intensity slowly before finally erupting near the end.



They had taken the past two months off (after playing 15 nights at New
York's Beacon Theatre), so they had some obvious rust, though not enough
to sound the alarm.



It was a mellow overall show by Allmans standards, but still a rewarding
one. It showcased new musical strengths (especially if you're a lover of
guitar duels) and a more alert, more accepting statesmanship from the
now-sober Gregg Allman, whose blues vocals landed with refreshing
clarity.



Playing before a well-lubricated crowd of 18,500 often tie-dyed fans,
the Allmans turned the show around in the last 45 minutes of this
two-hour-and-40-minute reunion with the tribes. And the catalyst was the
chiseled, Mount Rushmore-like Gregg, who caught fire on ''Midnight
Rider'' and ''Statesboro Blues,'' belting the latter with an almost
heroic grit.



Aiding him on ''Statesboro'' was the piercing slide guitar of Jack
Pearson, whose better integration into the band was in marked contrast
to last year's tour opener at Great Woods, when he was more tentative.
Pearson, a shy-looking, blue-denimed kind of guy, has come a long way.
His electric-guitar duels with legendary mainstay Dickey Betts had more
passion, but also a spaciness that took the Allmans into some Grateful
Dead terrain, showed hints of the Charlie Christian/Wes Montgomery style
that has influenced Pearson, and fit the mood of the magic mushrooms
pictured on the overhead scrim.



On a clammy night in which Great Woods, after this week's storms,
smelled like a swamp (foul smells from backed-up drainage didn't help),
the Allmans eased in with two songs from the archives in ''Don't Keep Me
Wondering'' and ''Ain't Wasting My Time No More.'' They followed with
''Change My Way'' and ''Dimples,'' before Allman showed flashes with
Chicago classic ''Stormy Monday'' and Betts came alive with ''Good Clean
Fun.''



The sinuous psychedelia of ''High Falls'' led to an unplugged segment
that was similar to the ones they did at the Beacon. But what works in a
theater doesn't always work in a huge amphitheater. The acoustic tunes
were bookended by two Robert Johnson numbers (''Steady Rollin' Man'' and
''Come On in My Kitchen''), and highlighted by a subtly adapted,
Dead-identified ''Going Down the Road Feeling Bad.'' But it went on too
long and it would make sense to cut a track from it. (Suggestion: ''Blue
Like Midnight.'')



The night was soon salvaged in typical Allmans fashion, however, when
the timeless ''Melissa'' and instrumental ''In Memory of Elizabeth
Reed'' climaxed with the renegade anthem ''No One to Run With.''



Opening act Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise was a pleasant
surprise, melding Otis Reddingsoul shouts with a hard-rocking pulse.



This story ran on page C06 of the Boston Globe on 06/20/98.
© Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.

OK, Now that I've had some sleep....

Setlist? Gosh I didn't take notes....but like Adam said, it was like the 3/7
list, with some changes.  Opener: DKMW. My highlights:  Stormy
Monday!!!!!!!!!!  High Falls!!!!!!!!! Liz Reed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  What can I say,
Jack and Dickey were right on last night!!!!  Actually everyone was!!  It's
good to see they're still doing different things in the acoustic set, Goin'
Down The Road Feelin' Bad was a definite plum, and it seems they keep coming
up with new verses to Midight Blues.  And it's good to see they've updated the
light/slide show.  You could tell that The Brothers were pleased with their
season opener, lots of hugs all around the stage after No One To Run With.

I only caught up with one other lister, Joe K, it was really good to meet you
man, I'll see ya on down the road.  Only a few other folks (some non-listers
that I told) made it to my flag-flying truck, but it'll be flying at the next
GW show. The beer police were out in full force in the parking.  The rains
gave way to blue skies just before the show.  I really dug Robert Bradley and
crew too.....

OK, gotta run...stuff to do....

My first big surprise was the lack of the Franklin's Tower intro on Blue
Sky.  Dickey did a little solo guitar beforehand, but that was it.  They
just went right into the main theme from there.  My second big surprise
was the fact that Dickey was just not on his game at all.  He botched
the entire ending on True Gravity to a degree which I've never heard.
There were a couple of other songs that his entrances weren't on.  Not
to mention the fact that he just didn't seem to be playing during his
solos.  They just weren't on a level where I've seen the before.  My
last big surprise was Jack.  Where Dickey fell through, Jack came
through huge.  I think I'd honestly say that last night was his show.
He played his a*s off on his solos.  The guy was on last night.  This
was the first time I've really seen him take that much initiative.  I
enjoyed his playing about a thousand times more last night than I had
every other time I'd seen him.  If this is any indication for the rest
of the tour, just be ready for a different Jack Pearson.
As with the last time they played at Spac, I thought the crowd was
pretty lame.  As soon as a song came on that they didn't all know, the
place just died.  I also think that there may have been too much blues
for a lot of the crowd.  All in all, I've seen the boys play a lot
better, except for Jack, but it's hard to come away from seeing the
Brothers without being pretty psyched from the show.
The dude abides.