On Thursday night, Warren Haynes and Railroad Earth came together for the first show of their tour together promoting the release of Ashes & Dust. After 30 years, playing in bands such as the Allman Brothers Band, The Dead or his own Gov’t Mule, Haynes took the opportunity to release something fans of his hadn’t seen out of him to this point—an Americana record.
Billed as a “record release party” in NYC’s Town Hall, a gorgeous old venue just off Bryant Park, the band came out just after 8:40, comprised of the six-piece Stillwater, New Jersey bluegrass band and Haynes, they opened up with the first track off the new album, “Is It Me or You.” The song followed a traditional pattern, opening up with a nice fiddle line from Tim Carbone and ended with a nice jam after the final refrain.
Throughout the course of the first set, the band played 10 of the 13 songs off the new album, which saw a number of instrument changes and guitarist and lead vocalist Todd Sheaffer jump on and off the stage. After running through the impressive “Word on the Wind,” the up-tempo “Company Man” and the down-beat “Wanderlust,” Warren traded in his Les Paul for his preferred instrument, a hollow-body Gibson 335 for the highlight of the first set.
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At about the half-way point in the set, the band launched into “Stranded in Self-Pity,” a song that on first listen sounds reminiscent to the Grateful Dead’s “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” or “Brown-Eyed Women.” After a nicely paced run-through of the song, multi-instrumentalist Andy Goessling picked up a clarinet to give the outro a klezmer-feel to it. Trading eight-bar solos, Goessling, Haynes, John Skehan on keys and Carbone each put their fingerprints on the song with impressive improvisation from each. The song was a hit to the crowd—who had varying degrees of no exposure to the material prior to the performance—voiced their appreciation by standing and loudly cheering.
The set continued after with the solo-less “Glory Road,” the sleepy “Blue Maiden’s Tale” and the heavier “Beat Down the Dust,” each of which were met with tepid reactions from the crowd as the set broke the hour-mark. The run of new material closed with the pairing of “Coal Tattoo,” which saw Haynes uncharacteristically sit back for much of the song until the coda where he started driving the band forward. The group then segued thanks to drummer Carey Harmon into “Spots of Time,” ostensibly the single off the album, which Haynes wrote with Phil Lesh, the Grateful Dead bassist. During his lengthy solo, Haynes laced in many of the licks he’s become notable for, charging to the top of the fret-board with reckless abandon before wrapping up the song.
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The band then took a very brief hiatus from the stage before coming back and telling the crowd that a strict curfew meant no set break, but a “set” of music that they’ve heard before.
Making good on that promise, the band opened up with an acoustic rendition of the Allman Brothers/Gov’t Mule classic, “Soulshine.” The band then launched into the Haynes original, “Patchwork Quilt,” with lyrics nodding to the passing of Jerry Garcia and given an Americana twist by the septet. Another Haynes original, “Dusk Til Dawn”, then saw nice interpolation between Skehan and Haynes.
The show wrapped up with a pair of covers that got the stoic crowd to their feet and dancing. First up was the Neil Young classic “Comes a Time,” which saw Sheaffer and Harmon take lead vocals for alternating verses with Haynes while also giving solos to each of the featured members of the band. The septet then closes the night with the Garth Brooks cover, “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House,” which sounded like what would happen if folk music made its way to New Orleans’ Bourbon Street.
With two eyes on the clock, the band wrapped up the more than two-hour show before 11 p.m. with a gracious Haynes taking every pause in the music to thank the crowd. As fans filed out, there was some trepidation as reactions were something of a mixed bag toward the new material.
Whereas virtually all of Haynes’ other projects have his soulful vocals blended with a thick, bluesy guitar sound that chugs along and is no stranger to feedback, this lower-key approach sounds pleasant, but might not have been exactly what fans were clamoring for. After a long and illustrious career, Haynes is more than entitled to explore a different side than fans are used to, and as the band settles in with one another, they can more consistently reach the highs they were so tantalizingly close to reaching on occasion.
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Setlist:
Is It Me or You
Word On the Wind
Company Man
Wanderlust
Stranded in Self-Pity
Glory Road
Blue Maiden’s Tale
Beat Down the Dust
Coal Tattoo
Spots of Time
Angel Band >
Soulshine (Allman Brothers)
Patchwork Quilt
Dusk Till Dawn
Comes a Time (Neil Young)
Revelator
Two of a Kind, Workin’ On a Full House (Garth Brooks)
Words by Brian Weidy, Photos by Dino Perrucci. Full gallery below:
