Scott Smith and the Midnight Riders bring Allman Brothers magic to my new favourite venue

photos by the newt

By Steve Newton

I finally made it out to Blue Frog Studios, the White Rock recording facility and concert venue, and I gotta tell ya, it’s one helluva fine place to see a band.

I’ve been to my fair share of rock concerts over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard such impeccable sound production. And the fact that the venue only seats 100 people means that, even if you’re at the very back of the place, you’re still close to the stage.

Long overdue kudos to Blue Frog co-owners Kelly and Juanita Breaks for having put on hundreds of shows there since 2010. I only wish I’d experienced the venue sooner, ’cause now it’s my favourite place to see live music in Metro Vancouver.

Sorry, Commodore.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that the first band I ever saw at Blue Frog, last night, was absolutely killer. Scott Smith and the Midnight Riders played a tribute to the Allman Brothers Band that brought all the slide guitar-infested goodness you could hope for in a 90-minute southern-rock blast.

Guitarist-vocalist Smith also plays in a fab local blues-rock quartet called Terminal Station, along with keyboardist Darryl Havers, bassist Jeremy Holmes, and drummer Liam MacDonald. But to give the Midnight Riders that Allman Brothers authenticity he’s recruited a second guitarist, Emmett Jerome, and a second drummer, Leon Power, from City and Colour. That freewheeling lineup is fully capable of conjuring the improvisational spirit the Allmans were famous for.

They kicked the show off on a rocking note with “Statesboro Blues”, the Blind Willie McTell track that the Allmans popularized with their live version on 1971’s At Fillmore East. Tribute was then paid to ABB guitarist Dickey Betts, who passed away last April, with a performance of the band’s biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man”.

On “Trouble No More”, a Muddy Waters song off the band’s self-titled debut album of 1969, Jerome took the spotlight with some extremely tasty bottleneck which–since it was played with a glass slide on a cherry red Gibson SG–could have been inspired by either Duane Allman or Derek Trucks. Or maybe both.

Other classic Allman Brothers tunes rolled out included “Whipping Post”, “Midnight Rider”, the Betts-penned instrumentals “Jessica” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”, and Duane Allman’s “Little Martha”, which was given a unique arrangement that saw Jerome skilfully placing tiny but emotive slide licks into the familiar melody fingerpicked by Smith.

Another highlight was the Brothers and Sisters track “Southband”, in which Havers did a stellar job of infusing his rollicking piano solo with the same joyous vibe that caused me to ask God to bless Chuck Leavell’s piano playing on the original.

By the time the Midnight Riders encored with a raucous version of the old blues gem “One Way Out” my deep love of the Allman Brothers’ music–and appreciation for close-quarters concert-going–had been taken to the next level.

Upcoming concerts at Blue Frog include Cousin Harley (Nov. 1) and Brandon Isaak & the Saints of Swing (Oct. 25), plus tributes to Heart (October 12), David Bowie (Oct. 18-19), Van Morrison (Nov. 8-9), and the Eagles (Dec. 4-7). You can stream last night’s Midnight Riders show–and scores of others–by signing up here.

And to hear the full audio of my various interviews with Allman Brothers members Dickey Betts, Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, and Derek Trucks subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 500 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with music legends since 1982.