Anytime I get to go to a show at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California, is a good time and this time was no exception. For anyone who doesn’t know what The Fillmore is, it is one of the United States’ more iconic venues and has played host to some of the biggest names in music history including The Grateful Dead, The Who, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and the Velvet Underground. Many of the 1960’s Bay Area psychedelic bands that became household names got their starts on that stage. The Fillmore, for me, is always a big deal.
The lineup of the evening consisted of Dumpstaphunk opening for the Allman Family Revival. When I heard this announced, I knew I had to be there. The Allman Brothers band has been consistently one of my favorite bands since I was a kid and while, this is not that band, it is the closest thing to it. This project first started in 2017 with one show at this very venue and has now morphed into an 18 stop tour with revolving band members. This stop was the last one on the tour and, might I say, the best.
Dumpstaphunk was up first. Formed in 2003 in New Orleans, Louisiana, they have brought their funk-fusion to the masses. Ivan and Ian Neville have put together and amazing group of musicians to spread the word. Opening the set with “Fire and Brimstone” they drew the crowd right in and had them dancing and grooving. Uniquely, having two bass players gave each song a distinctive sound and made them a real standout musically. The signature New Orleans brass sound didn’t hurt either. Though the set only consisted of 5 songs, it still filled about 30 minutes or so and, quite frankly, I could have enjoyed a lot more from them. After hearing them live, they are definitely doing their part to keep funk alive.
Dumpstaphunk are:
Ivan Neville– keyboards, vocals
Ian Neville – guitar
Tony Hall – bass, guitar, vocals
Nick Daniels – bass, vocals
Alex Wasily – trombone
Ashlin Parker – trumpet
Deven Trusclair – drums
Set List:
2). Dancin’ to the Truth
3). Where Do We Go From Here
4). Justice
After about 30 more minutes of getting the stage set, The Allman Family Revival hit the stage. The first thing I noticed was two drum kits. Not only did they have 2 drummers simultaneously, they also had a separate percussionist and a guy playing conga drums and the bongos. They were pulling out all the stops for this one! Starting with the core Allman Betts Band members they broke right into their originals “Wash In G” and “Magnolia Road” before bringing out the Allman Brothers tune, “Ain’t Wastin’ Time”. Devon Allman told the crowd this was an extra special night and expect a really long set with a lot of special guests. Man, he wasn’t kidding. From there they went right into “Blue Sky” which is one of my all time favorites.
After the next song, they brought out the River Kittens (Allie Vogler and Mattie Schell) for one of their originals, “Trouble” before leading into their version of “Come & Go Blues.” As they left the stage, Larry McCray entered and did a searing version of his latest single “Arkansas”. Larry stayed for one more Allman Brothers tune then the core band finished up set number one with “Dreams”. Leaving the stage they said they would be back in 15 minutes for set number two.
Fifteen minutes later, the band was back on stage for another 10 songs starting with “Statesboro Blues” Featuring Jimmy Hall on vocals and harmonica. “Keep on Smilin'” from Jimmy Hall’s band Wet Willie was up next. The entire attendance was singing and dancing along. G. Love joined everyone on stage for the next song, “Cold Beverages” before taking on the Sonny Boy Williamson II song “One Way Out”. At one point, Jimmy and G. Love were dueling with harmonicas which was pretty impressive.
Donovan Frankenreiter vame out next. Devon Allman introduced him and he told us about a fan interaction at Ameba Records on Haight St earlier in the day. This individual was so excited about seeing him, that he didn’t realize he was talking to Devon Allman. Joining the band for the next two songs were Tony Hall on Bass and Ivan Neville on keyboards. From there they went into “Southbound” before playing a Donavon Frankenreiter original, “Move By Yourself”. The next two songs were the Allman Brothers tunes “Melissa” (my all time favorite song of theirs) and “Seven Turns”.
Maggie Rose was up next with her original “What Makes You Tick”and wow, this lady has a voice! No wonder they call her the darling of the Opry. From there, she finished off set number two with an amazing sixteen minute version of “Whipping Post”. I think we were all taken aback with this performance.
After a short break Maggie and Devon came back on stage and did an acoustic version of “These Days.” Then they invited everyone back up on stage to play the final number of the tour, “Midnight Rider.” It sure is a good thing that stage was as big as it was because they had almost 20 people up there all rocking out.
If I don’t get to see another show this year, this is the perfect show to end on. Amazing musicians playing some of my all time favorite songs. Devon Allman said it was going to be a long show, and he meant it as they played for almost 3 hours. What a perfect Christmas present.
The Allman Family Revival features:
Devon Allman – guitar, vocals
Duane Betts – guitar, vocals
Ivan Neville – Keyboards
Jimmy Hall – harmonica, vocals
Maggie Rose – guitar, vocals
Ian Neville – guitar
Tony Hall – keyboards
Larry McCray – guitar, vocals
Allie Vogler – guitar, vocals
Mattie Schell – guitar, vocals
Orbi Orbison – drums, percussion
Donovan Frankenreiter – guitar, vocals
G. Love – guitar, harmonica, vocals
John Ginty – keyboards
Johnny Stachela – guitar
R. Scott Bryan – drums, percussion
John Lum – drums
Justin Corgan – bass
Set List:
Set #1
1). Wash In G
2). Magnolia Road
3). Ain’t Wastin’ Time
4). Blue Sky
5). Sailin’ ‘Cross The Devil’s Sea
6). Trouble (w/ The River Kittens)
7) Come & Go Blues (w/ The River Kittens)
8). Arkansas (w/ Larry McCray)
9). Soulshine (w/ Larry McCray)
10). Nobody Left To Run With
11). Dreams
Set #2
12). Statesboro Blues (w/ Jimmy Hall)
13). Keep On Smilin’ (w/ Jimmy Hall)
14). Cold Beverages (w/ G. Love)
15). One Way Out (w/ G. Love)
16). Southbound (w/ Donovan Frankenreiter)
17). Move By Yourself (w/ Donovan Frankenreiter)
18). Melissa
19). Seven Turns
20). What Makes You Tick (w/ Maggie Rose)
21). Whipping Post (w/ Maggie Rose)
Encore
22). These Days
23). Midnight Rider
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Photographer of about 10 years, I have been shooting concerts for about 8 of those years. I started to get serious about concert photography about 6 or 7 years ago and now try to shoot as many as I can. I shoot mostly rock but, have done some country and big band stuff. I love music and since I am nowhere close to being a musician, this is a way I can be a small part of what, in the words of Henry Rollins, “gets me through the highs, the lows and everything in between”.
