Warren Haynes 1, Weather 0 – Christmas Jam Shakes Off the Snow and Rocks
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays Warren Haynes. The Asheville weather, six inches’ worth, did interrupt the pre-jam Friday night at The Orange Peel, but nothing could stop Haynes and his friends from throwing another great benefit for habitat for Humanity.
The evening began early with Holly Bowling warming the U.S. Cellular crowd up. She made it clear once again that she is a brilliant interpreter of all things Phish and Dead and more. For this brief set, she chose also “Little Martha,” always a fan favorite.
[HOLLY BOWLING: St. Stephen, Free, Proxima B, Cassidy, Little Martha]
Haynes joined Jake Shimabukuro on stage for his first song, “Melissa,” on this Allman Brothers-themed evening. He then let Jake uke it out solo.
[WARREN HAYNES and JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Melissa]
[Jake Shimakuburo: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Dragon]
Margo Price delighted with another great early set as the crowd was filtering in. She has made a big splash in the country world and recently recorded with Willie Nelson.
[MARGO PRICE: Nowhere Fast, Tennessee Song, Wild Woman, Hurtin’ (On The Bottle), Learning To Lose, All-American Made, Paper Cowboy]
Then it was time to rock out with Blackberry Smoke’s deep Southern rock. This band blisters from start to finish, a great exponent of the ABB tradition.
[BLACKBERRY SMOKE: Fire In The Hole, Let It Burn, Waiting For The Thunder, Free On The Wing, Ain’t Got The Blues, Ain’t Much Left of Me]
The Avett Brothers delivered a great set of their joyous brand of Americana/roots, then were joined by their host for several more tunes.
[THE AVETT BROTHERS: Blue Ridge Mountain Blues, Cigarettes, Whiskey, and Wild Wild Women, Black Mountain Rag, Laundry Room, Paranoia in B Flat Major, No Hard Feelings]
[WARREN HAYNES andTHE AVETT BROTHERS: If We Make It Through December,
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere]
Ann Wilson, set to perform with Gov’t Mule in the headlining set, played a short set of with Haynes. They then brought Shimabukuro back up for the Audioslave gem “I Am the Highway,” a shout-out to the late Chris Cornell.
[WARREN HAYNES and ANN WILSON: Southern Accents, The Highway]
Classic TAB was up next, the quartet version, sounding amazing. Trey Anastasio and crew benefitted from this stripped-down approach, lean and mean. Haynes then joined Anastasio for a brief set.
[TREY ANASTASIO BAND: Gotta Jibboo, Burn That Bridge, Everthing Is Right, Aqui Como Alla, Sand, Dark and Down, Set Your Soul Free, First Tube]
Haynes then paired with Anastasio for several tunes, with Bowling invited for “Morning Dew.”
[WARREN HAYNES andTREY ANASTASIO: Miss You, Midnight Rider, Morning Dew]
In a year in which we lost two Allman Brothers, there was much anticipation for the set by Les Bros (the renamed Les Brers), with Warren joined by Marc Quinones, Jorgen Carlsson, Bruce Katz, Lamar Williams, Jr., and Paul Riddle. And the set featured excellent guest slots by Mike Barnes, Craig Sorrells, Marcus King, and Brandon “Taz” Niederauer.
[LES BROS: Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, Southbound, Blue Sky, Dreams, Whipping Post]
Speaking of King, the Haynes protege, he and band again thrilled with a performance that belies his 21 years on the planet.
[MARCUS KING BAND: Jealous Man, Where I’m Headed, Rita Is Gone Nobody Knows You]
And then it was time for Gov’t Mule. The headliners played a pair of tunes before Ann Wilson made her appearance, reprising their collaboration at Lockn’.
[GOV’T MULE: Traveling Tune, Thorns of Life, No Quarter^ Black Dog^, Cry Baby^, Mother Earth^, Immigrant Song^, Magic Man^, Mule]
^ with ANN WILSON
