Blackberry Smoke
With Bob Weir
An Evening at Tri
(3 Legged Records)
What happens when the hottest southern rock band of the day teams up
with legendary Grateful Dead singer/guitarist Bobby Weir? Well, before we
answer that, let us consider Atlanta’s Blackberry Smoke. Sure, we southern
rockers claim them as the keepers of the flame for southern rock, which they
are. But they are much more. They are a country band. They are an Americana
band. They are a blues band and a bluegrass band. They are a heavy metal band.
These are the guys who are equally comfortable playing with George Jones or
Warren Haynes. So their set with Bob Weir is as exciting as a Dead show.
The video cuts between live songs and interview footage.
There is a lot of fun in the interview segments, as we learn more about Charlie
Starr and his brothers, and the music is, to use a far too trendy and cliché
adjective, “off the chain.”
The guys stand and deliver on the classic “Columbus Stockade
Blues,” a song I personally love to hear Donnie Winters play. So good to hear
it kick off this set. We are treated to some of Smoke’s best songs, including favorites, “One Horse Town,” “Woman in the Moon,” “Ain’t Got the Blues,” and
the always beautiful “The Whippoorwill.” Love it.
The collective do an outstanding cover of Johnny Cash’s “Big
River,” the Band’s “Up On Cripple Creek” and “The Weight,” and the Chuck Berry
rocker, “The Promised Land.” Deadheads will love “Ramble On Rose,” “Big Boss
Man,” and “Deep Elem Blues.” There’s Smoke doing “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown
Toodeloo,” and the bonus tracks include the same song with Bob Weir. The guys
turn in an excellent cover of the Lowell George classic, “Willin” to close out
the set.
Taken as a whole, An Evening at Tri is an exciting and
downright fun trip. So grab a loved one, get your mind right, chill on the sofa
with an adult beverage (or just a sweet iced tea) and enjoy. Nobody will judge
you if you start the whole thing over at the end. I did, and “I ain’t got the
blues anymore.”
- Buffalo
