photo by the newt
By Steve Newton
Local guitar freaks looking for a healthy dose of blues-drenched southern-rock got it in spades at Vancouver’s Rio Theatre last night (January 26).
That’s when the Allmost Brothers–a six-piece band putting its own spin on the classic tunes of the Allman Brothers–lit up the East Van venue with an array of time-tested ABB songs.
Before the show started the crowd of 200 or so were treated to some comical storytelling from emcee/promoter Dave Chisholm, best known as the former frontman for Vancouver blues-rock party band the Fins. He told a wild tale about his experience at a Grateful Dead concert in California in the ’70s. The guy’s got a ton of stories from his decades as a music lover and working musician–like the one I posted about the Fins opening for Johnny Winter at the Commodore back in ’87.
Once the Chisholm-induced chuckles got the good-time vibe rolling, the Allmost Brothers took the stage to keep it going. As expected, the instrumental stars of the show were guitarists Todd Taylor (Two Trains, Todd Taylor and the New Vehicle) and Johannes Grames (the Grames Brothers), who did a bang up job of instilling the tunes with fiery fretwork that brought to mind the freewheeling style of original ABB pickers Duane Allman and Dickey Betts.
The tunes that seemed to go over the best were the upbeat ones written by Betts, including “Revival”, “Blue Sky”, and “Jessica.” Another highlight was the night’s only non-Allmans song, Derek and the Dominos’ “Keep on Growing”.
Staying true to the Allman Brothers format, the lineup included two in-sync drummers, Douglas Kerr and Ed Johnson, who didn’t miss a beat far as I could tell. Rounding out the group were bassist Marcus Charalambous and keyboardist Scott Russell who, whether on purpose or not, happens to look quite a bit like Gregg Allman.
For those southern rockheads who’d like to experience the Allmost Brothers, they’ve got some other B.C. gigs booked for the spring. May 10 they’re at the Brackendale Art Gallery in Squamish, May 30 the Carlson Loft in Powell River, and May 31 the Roberts Creek Hall in Gibsons.
You can check ’em out here.