I got to see the Allman Brothers along with Phil Lesh and Friends close out their tour in Georgia this weekend and together the created some of the most magical moments I have every experienced. I was a little disappointed with the beginning of Phil and Friends. It started out sort of spotlighting Warren Haynes(guitar and vocals) and I had come hoping to hear more of Phil. But about halfway through, after "Sugaree", they brought out "Birdsong" and it was truly magical and beautiful and just the prettiest version of this song I have ever had experienced. He even changed the words to "All I know is something like a bird within him sang," making it a haunting tribute to Jerry Garcia but in the most fitting way and their harmony was so strong and tight, brilliant sounding really, echoing over the hill... "Don't cry now, Don't you cry, Don't you cry, Anymore, la da da da Sleep with the stars, Don't you cry, Dry your eyes on the wind, La da da da... Ah..Ahhhhh......" I felt transformed and transcended in a way I haven't felt since I saw the Grateful Dead for the last time in 1995. It had this fragility to it and yet it was so strong. As they went into "China Cat Sunflower", "Franklin's Tower", and finally "And We Bid You Goodnight" I was just soaring with the energy that had been created. And if that wasn't enough, the Allman Brothers just came and completely blew me away. I hadn't been sure what to expect from them and had mainly been interested in seeing Phil but they completely surpassed my expectations. I don't know how to describe this but they did this 25 minute version of "Jessica" that was so powerful and beautiful I literally felt like I was being pulled out of my own body. As Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes wailed on their guitars, the backdrop offered these visions of dolphins, whales, seagulls, and suns on the ocean water, all through a prism so that everything was doubled on to itself and the whales and dolphins kept jumping out of the water and it just built up and built up and by the time Chuck Leavall did his piano solo I truly felt like one with this song. Nothing they did after that really lived up to that moment but the rest of the show was definately enjoyable. The bummer though is that on the way home, tired and ready to sleep, my roommate and I got pulled over by the police for no apparent reason, had to sit in the car for about 20 minutes, and then am told I have a headlight out and am given a ticket. What a way to spoil a high! But it truly was a remarkable show and one I will remember forever. Victor Victor Johnson http://www.cdbaby.com/victorjohnson "Just beyond the morning falls the river of your dreams, Escaping from the day these wild creatures run away." Victor Johnson
