01/05/2024
A RAW MUSIC REVIEW
BLACKBERRY SMOKE
L’Auberge Casino, Baton Rouge, LA
4-27-24
By Steven Scaffidi
There’s something I just love about good ole’ southern rock music. You know what I’m talkin’ about…The Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Outlaws and on and on. Back in the 70’s, Capricorn Records was cranking out some of the best music on the planet. So when guitar legend and co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band, Dickey Betts, passed away a few weeks ago, it felt like the apocalypse of all music that I loved and lived for. To say the least…I was musically comatose.
Then, low and behold, I was thrown a lifeline when I realized I had 2 tickets to a concert in Baton Rouge featuring a little band out of Atlanta, Georgia called Blackberry Smoke. Just a couple of years ago, I had no idea that these guys even existed until the day that I just happened to fall on a YouTube clip of the band playing “One Horse Town.” Wow! It was like going back in time to a place where great songs filled the radio airwaves rather than the poppy garbage that floods social media today. I was hooked and my new favorite band was Blackberry Smoke!
My original plan was to take my daughter, Gabi, to the show since she was raised on songs like “Heard it in a Love Song” by the Marshall Tucker Band. When she was just a baby her first words were, “Can’t be wrong”, so I was confident that she would love this band. Our father/daughter date was going to be amazing but the day before the show she called me to say that she couldn’t make it due to “baby issues”, and that maybe I could convince her husband and my son-in-law, Boyd, to go with me. Unfortunately, Boyd’s taste in music and mine are about as far apart as the north and south poles so I put on my best pathetic, “feel sorry for me face” and he said, “You got a date, Mr. Steve!”
I was stoked that Boyd was going to the concert with me, so I was eager to get there early to grab a few cocktails and secure our seats. Before long, the room started to fill up with loyal fans of the band who were excited to hear their boys jam. You should have seen the long lines at the merch table…it was crazy! The electricity in the place was building and even Boyd was getting excited to see a band he knew absolutely nothing about. When the house lights went down and the band took the stage, the roar from the crowd shook the room and there was no doubt that this night would special.
The band didn’t waste any time and kicked off the show with the rockin’ jam, “Six Ways to Sunday”. The crowd was on their feet from the opening note while the boys delivered big time with stellar guitar licks and Charlie Starr’s awesome vocals. One great song after the other, Blackberry Smoke kept the joint jumping with tunes like, “Good One Comin’ On”, “Hey Delilah”, “Lucky Seven”, and “Waiting for the Thunder”. By the time they got to one of my favorite songs, “One Horse Town”, the audience was eating out of the palm of their hands cheering for more. The set ended with some killer harmonies on their crowd-pleasing jam, “Little Bit Crazy” that brought the house down. Yeah, it was like the good ol’ days of classic rock concerts at the Warehouse in New Orleans!
After a raucous standing ovation, the band delivered two more big hits with, “Dig A Hole”, and “Ain’t Much Left of Me”. What a great show and what a great band! Blackberry Smoke is one of those bands that give hope to guys like me that can’t get enough of that great music inspired down south. The Allmans, Tucker Boys, Florida’s Guitar Army, Skynyrd, and even Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers would be proud of these boys who continue to carry the torch for great Southern Rock Music. Hey, if Blackberry Smoke comes to your neck of the woods…one suggestion…don’t miss em’!
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