The third night of Tedeschi Trucks Band’s annual run at the Beacon Theatre in NYC commenced last night, with the band laying down a blistering performance full of original music and classic covers. To sweeten the pot of a Tuesday night jam, Tedeschi Trucks had Traffic guitarist Dave Mason on as opening support, who delivered a fun set of Traffic and solo material. Notably absent from Mason’s set, however, was his classic song “Feelin’ Alright,” setting the stage for a seriously grand finale.
After Tedeschi Trucks opened their encore with Ray Charles’ “Night Time Is The Right Time,” the band took a moment to welcome Dave Mason to the stage. Mason appeared with his full band, and the 16-piece ensemble (12 of TTB and the 4 of Dave Mason’s band) got the place grooving with the opening notes of “Feelin’ Alright.” Interestingly, the version performed felt more like the Joe Cocker cover than the original Traffic release, but the crowd was dancing and singing along emphatically to the full band collaboration.
Considering TTB’s recent tribute to Cocker, the band was as tight as can be, and really laid it down for an electric performance. Fortunately there’s video of the whole jam streaming below, courtesy of michael caldwell.