Gregg Allman

BOOM.

Saw Gregg Allman last night at Boarding House Park in Lowell, MA.

Highlight of the summer? Don't know. I am not done with summer yet.

Just me and my brother Ed on a gorgeous summer night in a tiny little park in the middle of an armpit of a city.

The concert started at 7:30. Ed got there at 3:00 because the website said people actually arrive at 7:00 A.M. to reserve spots by setting down chairs.

They weren't kidding. Ed was 4 and 1/2 hours early and we sat three quarters of the way back in the park. Everything in front of us was reserved.

Kind of a strange sight, actually. I got there at 5:00 and 95% of the chairs were unoccupied, but there was a sea of them. Row upon row of empty lawn chairs, low rider chairs, plastic chairs, those foldy uppy chairs.

When I arrived, Ed and I walked over to an Irish pub for some grub. Ed had taken the time to scout the neighborhood and picked a great joint. If I lived in Lowell (God forbid) or if this bar was located in Henniker, I would hang there. Very comfortable, great atmosphere, great food.

We sat comfortably, shot the shit and chowed down. Walked back over to the park and still had an hour and fifteen minutes to kill.

Which we did quite enjoyably with easy conversation.

The opening act was Jaimoe's Jasssz Band. Jaimoe happens to be a founding father of and one of the drummers with The Allman Brothers Band.

Jaimoe playfully describes his band as follows: "I get to play music, can't nobody fire me, and I have horns and one drummer." Allman Brothers fans understand the references.

Rock royalty, baby.

The band was magnificent. They played some down and dirty blues standards, like "Killing Floor" and "Can't Be Satisfied" and also mixed in some jazz, soulful and sensitive stuff and originals. The array of instruments was awesome and the talent was overwhelming.

Then Gregg took the stage.

Goosebumps, baby. I may never get the chance to see the Allman Brothers Band again and I was wondering last night how many more chances I will have to see Gregg.

So I dug it. Deeply.

His band played a lot of ABB stuff and they put a different twist on most of it. Two saxes, a trumpet, and another set of keyboards will do that.

Gregg's voice was magnificent. The whiskey soaked throaty growl was in full effect. And he seemed playful and light.

I sat mesmerized when he sang "Melissa." Every other time I have experienced this (and there have been many), Gregg grabs an acoustic guitar and walks to the front of the stage. Last night his guitar player played the acoustic and Gregg sang from behind his keyboards.

This seemed to free him up to put all his heart and all his soul into the song. Subtle nuance, slightly different phrasing, more emotion. It was absolutely gorgeous and I had goosebumps and a couple of tears throughout.

The night ended and I did not feel bummed. I got to experience Gregg Allman in a tiny little park in the middle of an armpit of a city on a perfect summer night with my brother Ed.

Ed and I are warriors. 59 and 60 years old respectively. We are scarred and battle weary.
Still we can talk. We can talk heavy, we can talk light. We can laugh. God can we laugh. There is a mutual love and respect between us that is the essence of honest human interaction.

And we love music. We are knowledgeable in that arena. When we experience music together it takes our relationship and elevates it to an even higher plane.

What a night. What a night.

Two weekends in a row now I have experienced concerts featuring the blues in gorgeous outdoor settings on perfect summer nights.

One with my beautiful, loving and amazing wife. One with my brother who is so exceptional to be around that he makes me better.

My life ain't so bad, no?