Not that the rest of the 4 hour marathon recreation of The Band’s “Last Waltz” was not super incredible…BUT…Eric Johnson (from the recently defunct Fruit Bats) stole the show as he performed the Van Morrison songs (“Tura Lura Lura” and “Caravan”).


Leaning on the stage front dead center me and my showmate were dazzled as a robust stream of Americana/Rock musicians stormed the stage one after another bringing their A-game to the stage.


Jambands web did a concise recap of the show, including the full setlist. NYC Taper also provides the setlist and audio from the show. Rolling Stone chirps into too about the show.


If you asked those in attendance to name their favorite moment of the night, the list would be quite diverse….BUT, for me…beyond the Eric Johnson “Van the Man” stuff…

Nels Cline’s torrid guitar playing on the “Clapton tunes” was raw and special.


The rousing Dr. John gem “Such a Night” by Marco Benevento (who played with tremendous gusto and proved to be quite the ham) was an A plus plus too.


As many of you know, its not easy to do a Dylan-esque version of a Dylan song without coming up lame..BUT, Eric Earley from the quickly emerging Blitzen Trapper was very impressive.  His confident and steady presence certainly captured Bob’s essence when Dylan and The Band were in their heyday. Listen to “Forever Young” below.

Lastly the closing “Don’t Do It” (one of rock’s all-time underrated songs) led by singer Alecia Chakour (Warren Haynes Band) and guitar gypsy Scott Metzger was such a perfect high note to leave the venue on. Here is link to video.

Last year the show was done in SF (see Rolling Stone article)…I hope it returns again in 2014.


Not only did I catch a memorable night of music that I love, I also now begin to span seeds that will branch out friends of TBR to new bands.

As Dr. John song says “Such a Night” indeed.


FYW.