Album Review: The Gregg Allman Band – One Night in DC: May 15, 1984

The Allman Brothers Band always stood far above its so-called peers in the Southern rock movement. Calling the ABB Southern rock does their legacy a disservice; the band was always inspired as much by, say, John Coltrane as anything else. The Allmans arguably did what the Grateful Dead tried to do, and did it better.

The band’s history was star-crossed, with two of its key members dying in vehicle tragedies. Co-leader, co-founder and keyboardist Gregg Allman helmed the ship from its beginnings thorough to the end in 2014; he died in ‘17. The group left behind a sterling legacy, a ton of great music, a pile of excellent records and towering influence. But even with all that, the ABB had gaps; the gorp was inactive in 1977, and again for most of the 1980s.

But its members weren’t inactive. Nearly all of them busied themselves with other projects. Gregg Allman formed a band of his own, following on from a solo career begun when the Allman Brothers were active. His 1973 debut Laid Back established him as a force – creative and commercial – outside his main band; its lead single “Midnight Rider” went Top 20 and became a staple of FM rock radio.

So by the time the Gregg Allman Band went on tour in 1984, its leader had plenty of material form which to draw. And this he did, serving u pa set that featured solo hits and Allman Brothers Band classics. Recorded at Washington DC’s The Bayou, a new archival release is a document of the band on that night in May.

Opening with the ABB chestnut “Dreams,” the group had the audience in its metaphorical palm right from the get-go. The band sounds a bit different from the Allmans, but Gregg’s powerful lead vocal and organ give the music a welcome familiarity. The jazzy “Hot ‘Lanta” is as on fire as its title suggests, and the vibe (if not the fine detail) of the original’s multiple-guitar assault is conjured.

The band’s subtle, no-percussion reading of “Melissa” is lovely, moving and different enough from its studio counterpart to make it a must-hear. A similar approach is taken on “Midnight Rider,” adding some vocal harmonies to the gentle acoustic picking. The full band leans into a bouncy reading of “Statesboro Blues,” which again has elements of the ABB version along with a character all its own. “One Way Out” is taken at a breakneck pace; in the hands of lesser-skilled players, that approach could rob the song of its nuance. Not so here; it’s a fine way to close a great set.