Warren Haynes, Don Was, and Jamey Johnson on Wednesday arrived at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre for a showing of The Last Waltz Tour. The Wallingford, CT show featured a recreation of The Band‘s iconic farewell concert from Thanksgiving 1976.
In addition to the bandleaders who have shepherded the tribute tour for several years, the ensemble’s lineup includes John Medeski, Anders Osborne, Kathleen Edwards, Dave Malone, Cyril Neville, Terrence Higgins, Bob Margolin, Mark Mullins, and the Levee Horns. With this wealth of musicians, the cast is able to dutifully replicate the performance Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, and Robbie Robertston gave on November 25th, 1976, welcoming special guests including Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, and more.
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Wednesday’s concert ran like Martin Scorcese‘s celebrated 1978 documentary film, with highlights like Haynes’ soul reading of the Danko classic “It Makes No Difference” as well as Kathleen Edwards’ rendition of Neil Young’s “Helpless”. Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin, an alum of the original 1976 concert, replicated Muddy Waters’ evocative guitar playing and signature growl on “Mannish Boy”. He even went beyond the source material, introducing the Waters classic with an extended slide guitar solo, something he said he wished had happened at the actual concert.
Just like it did 46 years ago, the evening ended with a communal singalong of Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” before The Band offered the final song of The Last Waltz with Marvin Gaye‘s “Don’t Do It”.
Check out photos from The Last Waltz Tour at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Connecticut on Wednesday courtesy of David Gray, as well as fan-shot videos from Amy Karibian.