Derek Trucks Band Road Journal 2001-2009
December 5, 2009

Since the Atlanta 2009-12-03 show is the last I will see of the Derek Trucks Band (dTb) for at least a year- the band is taking a year hiatus- I started thinking about all the shows I have witnessed since I first saw the dTb in 2001.

I vividly remember dancin’ with my sister Amy (with a very-pregnant Tricia and Miles sitting down behind us) at the Charlotte Music festival back in 2001. I knew Derek had skills having seen 3 ABB shows with him on guitar in 99 and 2000. This was my first dTb show and I actually missed a set of Widespread Panic to catch it. That made it such a pivitol show for me. I was leaving behind WSP after so many years and shows to find something new and something more positive and “at the core” for me. I was hooked from the first groove. The set also included Susan Tedeschi (they weren’t married yet) and a couple of my all time favorites like “Mr. P.C.” (Paul Chambers was the bassist for John Coltrane and Miles Davis) and “Chicken”- which would become my concert request calling card of sorts with Yonrico! It was also the last time I saw Mikey Houser as I went over and caught a great 2nd set from WSP too.

Due to Dylan’s birth and work and then the sickness I got in early 2002, I didn’t see the band again until late 2002. Tricia and I went down to Savannah and caught the dTb opening for the Allman Brothers. That short set was all I needed to reaffirm my road plans. I went on to see quite a few shows in late 2002. The Oct 21st show at The Visulite remains a top show. That 2nd set remains a standout set of pure dTb jam. I even drove 9 hours by myself to see them play an opening set for Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe in Birmingham at the magnificent Alabama Theatre. I made some great connections with the band that night before the show that would continue for years. That’s one thing that always sticks out for me and that’s how gracious and down-to-earth the band has remained. They know they have a gift and they share it graciously and that has built the community that surrounds the band today. That “Joyful Noise” encore in Alabama was the kicker for me. I was a lifetime fan at that point. Derek signed my copy of “Joyful Noise” to Miles and Dylan that night and commented on how cool it was to have two sons named after heroes.

I will never forget the JJ Cagney show in late December 2002 with Jeff Charlton. The drunk birthday girl who I had to keep away from Susan and Derek’s family during the show scared everyone and made Derek scratch the encore. The bar was so small, it was like seeing them in a living room.

The spring of 2003 brought great shows in Columbia and Greenville. The Columbia show was responsible for me getting the “recording bug”. It was a shame the band was playing so good and no one was taping even though the band was allowing the recordings. The roof of the funky New Brookland Tavern was sweaating that night. Derek had just finished a Beacon run with the Allmans and they throw a “Dreams” out on us. Haven’t seen the dTb play that one since.

The Fall of 2003 remains one of my favorite runs. The show at Ziggy’s with Matt Hopkins was a blast. We hung with Joe Main again. Joe was Derek’s roadie and guitar tech for many years up until 2004 when he had to go back home to take care of his kids. Joe was always looking out for the fans. That night, I also got to meet and talk with Vusi Mahlasela from South Africa. We talked about the HIV/AIDS crisis in Southern Africa. I would later go on to visit his village in 2007 when I was in South Africa. Jeff and I made The Georgia Theatre show in Athens in October -would become their first live album. I still enjoy hearing me yell for “Chicken” between tunes on that one. What a barnburner that night! 2003 would close with Tricia and I seeing our first New Year’s Eve show at the Visulite in Charlotte. That was a night! The band did their only version of “Isis” from Bob Dylan’s Desire. By the end of the night I was doing the John Belushi dance inside James Brown’s church (see The Blues Brother movie please if you don’t know already). It was that good.

2004 continued to be a heavy tour year for me. I saw some early spring shows, including the one in Raleigh at the Lincoln Theatre that would be downloaded over 20,000 times off the archive. Matt and I had a blast that night and again it was a show with Derek coming off a Beacon run with the Allman Brothers. That seemed to always push him and he was firing on extra cylinders that night. Never heard the band more funky and tight at the same time. The summer of 2004 included the Smilefest set in North Carolina. It was Miles’ first show and he got a picture with Derek that afternoon (and Yonrico and Kofi).

That was a crazy weekend of music (organization was absent from the campground; but, the music lineup was awesome with Derek, Steve Kimock, Keller Williams, Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain, etc)). We closed 2004 with another New Year’s Eve set. This time in Atlanta at the Variety Playhouse. Kevin Kinney and his STAR band opened that night.

2005 brought more highlights. The set at the Savannah Music festival in April remains one of my favorites. Miles went down with me that night and we handed out flyers for the http://5in5foryonrico.com/ campaign. Yonrico had somehow survived and recovered from a dissecting aorta in 2001. He still was dealing with a large healthcare debt and the band was still working without a record contract when he was in the hospital. That show still sounds so good to my ears and it was such a basic recording setup for me back then. Great night! Saw them a few weeks later in Greensboro with my brother Tim and his pregnant wife, Robin. Tricia and I gave Yornico several thousand dollars in donations from fans around the world before the show. He was so gracious and sincerely thankful. He later told me that paid for some blood pressure medications and a lifetime membership to the Y in Atlanta. There is a picture on the 5in5 website from that afternoon. Of course, they played “Chicken” as a special request encore that night too . 2005 continued to get better with 2 nights at the virgin Wanee festival. Under the mossy oaks of the Mushroom stage in Florida. Just doesn’t get any better and they would return to that stage for many a barnbuner in years to follow! The Fall of 2005 brought Tricia and I to Jacksonville for the one-of-kind show with the Jacksonville Symphony. Check out the page with some samples here. No New Year’s this year for us; but, Matt and I got a great holiday show at the Visulite Theatre.

2006 highlights included another Wanee set, this one to send Derek off to play with Eric Clapton, at midnight under the mossy oaks. Wow! That was a set! We also caught the band in Myrtle Beach at the House of Blues before Wanee. Tricia and I finished the 5in5 campaign that night and Yonrico treated us as dear friends that night and still remains a close friend and hero to my family. We collected from the fans around the world over $2700 dollars in 2005 and 2006. Thank you all who made a difference for Yonrico (and the dTb). But, the highlight of 2006 would have to be the first Fox Theatre New Year’s Eve bash. To be able to walk across the street from the Georgian Terrace and into such a venue remains one of the musical travel highlights for me. The Fox is a perfect venue as far as I am concerned and Tricia and I had a blast that night with all the ABB and dTb friends and family.

2007 brought another Wanee midnight set and my very first trip to Europe to see the band in Germany at the Frankfurt Jazz festival. I could write a few more pages about that trip, I will save that for another day. Not to be overlooked are the 2 shows in late May at The Visulite, we won’t likely ever see them in that place again. Nice treat to get Branford Marsalis on sax on night #1 too. Derek was too kind to include “Sierra Leone” in the middle of “Rastaman”. Tricia and I were on the bus before the show and Derek and I were talking about my Dad’s funeral that week. I mentioned we were playing his “Sierra Leone” at the graveside ceremony. I get goosebumps every time I listen to that set. We closed 2007 with a Fall set at Sprit Square in Charlotte (Miles got to hit that one too) and another Fox New Year’s Eve show. This time we were lucky enough to get the North Mississippi Allstars as openers too. An electric Scrapomatic too!

2008 continued a slowing for me with the band touring all over the world and life transitions for me and the family. One more Wanee midnight set under the mossy oaks in April (can’t ever get enough of that), another Fall set at Spirit Square (with Miles again). I was lucky enough to again attend the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam in 2008 first night which brought us a set of Gov’t Mule, Derek Trucks Band and the Allman Brothers. That was a night that will burn for a long, long time. Nice to see it with good friends too! Eric Krasno on “Anyday” was such a nice touch.

2009 will be the shortest run for me and the dTb. One night at the fancy Belk Theatre in Charlotte in September. Very nice Mofro opener! The Variety Playhouse will likely be my last dTb show for some time. It was also an afterthought to get a ticket, glad I did! I think Derek and Susan have some album/tour plans that will unfold this spring. As I sit here listening to the show from Thursday night, I am more than satisfied with what I have gained by all the road miles, lack of sleep and standing in line. My life is more colorful because of Derek, Kofi, Todd, Yonrico, the Count and Susan and the rest of the family. Thank you for enriching my life with your gift of music. I have met so many good friends out on the dTb trail. True friends who share the same love and passion for live music that transcends and heals. Congratulations to the band on the recently announced Grammy nomination too. I look forward to the next era of dTb!

Make a Joyful Noise!

Here’s a link to my shows (dTb and many others) on the Live Music Archive: http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/mrsoul

Checkout this page (about half the way down) for pictures and Yonrico’s hand-painted setlists from many of these shows:

http://mrsoulmusic.info/cdr.html

I also have sketched out the 40+ shows I saw between 2001 and 2009 below. I think these are correct. . If you see a blatant error, let me know. See ya!

2001
-Charlotte Music Festival (April)

2002
-Savannah opening for ABB (Sept)
-Visulite Theatre Charlotte (Oct)
-Birmingham, Alabama Theatre (Nov)
-Variety Playhouse Dec 26th
-JJ Cagney’s, Savannah Dec 30th

2003
-New Brookland Tavern, Columbia ( April)
-The Handlebar (April)
-Music Farm,Charleston, (Oct)
- Ziggy’s Winston-Salem (Oct)
- The Georgia Theatre, Athens (Oct)
- Marz Theatre, Wilmington (Dec)
- The Visulite New Year’s Eve

2004
- Davidson College (Feb)
- The Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh (April)
- Visulite Theatre (June)
- Smilefest (July)
-Marz theatre Wilmington (December)
- Variety Playhouse New Years

2005
-Augusta, Georgia (January)
-Savannah Music Fest (April)
-Greensboro (April)
-Wanee (April)
-Wanee (April) 2 days
-Jacksonville w Symphony (Oct)
-Visulite (Dec)

2006
-The Handlebar (April)
-HOB Myrtle Beach (April)
-Wanee (April) Midnight set
-Raleigh opening for ABB (Aug)
-Spirit Square (Nov)
-The Historic Fox Theatre -New Year’s Eve

2007
-Wanee (April) midnight set
-Visulite (May)
-Visulite (May)
- Spartanburg Memorial Aud (Oct)
- Frankfurt Jazz Fest (Oct)
- Bridgeport,Ct (Nov) – just happened to be in town for business trip
- The Fox – New Year’s Eve

2008
-Wanee (April)
-Spirit Square (Nov)
-Christmas Jam Asheville (Dec)

2009
- The Belk Theatre Charlotte (Sept)
- The Variety Playhouse (Dec)…