Concert Review: The Allman Brothers Band At Nissan Pavillion, Bristow, VA, 8/14/07

The Allman Brothers Band gave an absolutely mind-blowing performance on this fine Tuesday evening at Northern Virginia's Nissan Pavilion. The weather was picture perfect, the lawn was open for business, and the crowd was just the right size.

There was the standard mix of colorful characters (not just the tie-dyed variety) – one guy in the beer line became my own personal stand-up comedian and kept me entertained for the entire set break between Ratdog and the Allman Brothers. He was hilarious - I can see an HBO special in this guy's future.

The band took the stage at 9:00pm, and the music didn’t stop for two glorious hours. On some nights, the boys ease into the show at a simmer. On this night at the Nissan Pavilion, they came out scalding with “Hot ‘Lanta” seguing into the unshakable crowd-pleaser, “Statesboro Blues.” They kept the hits coming with “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,” and another audience favorite, “Midnight Rider”.

Then it was time for guitarist Warren Haynes to showcase some of his originals. “Maydell” sure put the squeeze on me – Warren’s vocals and the guitar play between him and Derek had me crying out to the heavens. I didn’t think it could get better, but the opening riff of “Soulshine” nearly brought me to my knees. Everyone within earshot was singing along during the chorus, “better than sunshine, damn sure better than rain.” I was starting to wonder whether locally-based saxophonist Ron Holloway would make an appearance as he usually does at Virginia shows, and then I heard that unmistakable tenor trading leads with the guitar. "Soulshine" is one of the best and most uplifting songs ever written in my humble opinion, and Ron Holloway on sax sends it soaring.

“Wasted Words” added some more coals to the fire, with Gregg Allman back on the microphone and the guitars hard and heavy. Gregg must’ve needed a break after that one, and the other sit-in guest of the evening, Ratdog’s keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, laid down some vicious piano on “Schoolgirl” while Gregg left the stage.

Article Author: Katrina

Katrina Croswell is a self-proclaimed music junkie residing in Harrisonburg, Virginia. When she is not at a concert or writing about one, you can find her stuck behind a desk at her boring day job. To read more of Katrina's music experiences, please …

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