It says a lot to me that these 3 bands together were the ones of all of the wonderful US, UK and Canadian rock bands of that period that attracted an audience this large. They were all "concert" bands, not show bands. It was all about the art of the music...and at the core of their art was mostly American Roots music in it's varied forms...with their own interpretations and spins,,,,and amplified more widely than any concert before them.
To be able to pull this size show off and have the folks in the "cheap seats" able to hear & feel this music was a massive technical achievement...and much of that credit goes to the Deads crew, McIntosh amps, JBL speakers and Bill Grahams experience.
I look forward to the Watkins Glen documentary that's in production.
2 nights ago at a little bar in Maryland on a very hot, swampy night I got to experience a very young band, average age 17 play about a dozen songs from Watkins Glen. They were led and mentored by Butch Trucks daughter Melody who is 51. Her mom would not let her go to Watkins Glen with her dad. There were 2-3 people in the audience of 50 folks who had been at Watkins Glen...and more than a few more wearing Allman & Dead t-shirts.
They all REALLY enjoyed this concert...there was lots of applause and "oh yeas" when these young men played something cool. It was a fun night for me and I talked with the 16 year old keyboard players dad during the break. The parents are not musicians...but played a lot of this music on their stereo as their son grew up. He started playing at age 4. One of the older folks at the show said to me after the gig that "the music was in good hands" and that made him happy. He was alittle surprised that they all played it so well.
On Monday those young players will be at Roots Rock Revival, the music camp started by Butch Trucks 10 years ago to mentor folks in this music and how to be an artist. This band is Melody's extension of Butch's dream & vision. It appears that the Trucks family has more musical DNA than most.
It says a lot to me that these 3 bands together were the ones of all of the wonderful US, UK and Canadian rock bands of that period that attracted an audience this large. They were all "concert" bands, not show bands. It was all about the art of the music...and at the core of their art was mostly American Roots music in it's varied forms...with their own interpretations and spins,,,,and amplified more widely than any concert before them.
To be able to pull this size show off and have the folks in the "cheap seats" able to hear & feel this music was a massive technical achievement...and much of that credit goes to the Deads crew, McIntosh amps, JBL speakers and Bill Grahams experience.
I look forward to the Watkins Glen documentary that's in production.
2 nights ago at a little bar in Maryland on a very hot, swampy night I got to experience a very young band, average age 17 play about a dozen songs from Watkins Glen. They were led and mentored by Butch Trucks daughter Melody who is 51. Her mom would not let her go to Watkins Glen with her dad. There were 2-3 people in the audience of 50 folks who had been at Watkins Glen...and more than a few more wearing Allman & Dead t-shirts.
They all REALLY enjoyed this concert...there was lots of applause and "oh yeas" when these young men played something cool. It was a fun night for me and I talked with the 16 year old keyboard players dad during the break. The parents are not musicians...but played a lot of this music on their stereo as their son grew up. He started playing at age 4. One of the older folks at the show said to me after the gig that "the music was in good hands" and that made him happy. He was alittle surprised that they all played it so well.
On Monday those young players will be at Roots Rock Revival, the music camp started by Butch Trucks 10 years ago to mentor folks in this music and how to be an artist. This band is Melody's extension of Butch's dream & vision. It appears that the Trucks family has more musical DNA than most.
Bob I'll see you there.