Come Back Alice Macon Sweet Music Doing The Allman Brothers

Come Back Alice Macon Sweet Music Doing The Allman Brothers

Come Back Alice has several dates left on the current tour, including this Thursday (March 23rd) at The Ringside Café in St. Petersburg. Friday’s performance at Skipper’s Smokehouse will be special: a tribute to The Allman Brothers. In the past, Come Back Alice has covered Live at the Fillmore East and Eat a Peach.

Come Back Alice are: Tony Tyler, guitar, Hammond B3, keyboards, vocals; Dani Jaye, violin, guitar, vocals; Yral ‘datdudeondrums’ Morris, drums; and Jimmy Jams Rector, percussion. Mark Mayea (Ajeva, Joose) will guest on keyboards and Taylor Gilchrist (Ajeva) on bass.

When they played Live at the Fillmore East at Skipper’s on 11.29.14, we wrote:

It was a quick transition to the ABB set, and I saw Jacob Cox (Holey Miss Moley) strapping on his axe. At once, everything came into focus. Cox loves ripping into the ABB catalog; this would be a perfect fit. And it had not occurred to me that there really should be two drummers. Wait! There IS another kit on stage, and here comes Miguel Elasmar, a longtime friend of Tony Tyler. Sextet. On stage. Ready to rock the house.

Covering an album that is arguably one of the greatest live records of all time is a daunting task. Even the Allman Brothers themselves found that out when they honored the 40th anniversary in 2011 at the Beacon. So this was an ambitious project, to be sure.

From the very first notes of “Statesboro Blues,” my only thought was: NAILED IT. It was on! Two drummers in perfect unison, twin guitars, bass and the Hammond B3 organ. There were so many aspects of this performance that were just so right, but I have to start with Tony Tyler’s voice. If you’ve seen him, you already know. He belongs in the Preachers’ Club, along with Gregg, JB, Warren, and JJ (just naming the chairmen of the board). And I don’t see or hear it as imitating Gregg; that is Tony, all the way. Second, we must discuss Tony on the Hammond B3 organ (with that marvelous swirling Leslie cabinet). The B3 just takes you to church (actually, that’s the C3, but whatevs…). Oh, right. Tony also plays a bit of guitar.

Dani Jaye is a superb guitar slinger, and I was pleased to hear her play more guitar than I’ve ever seen before. For “Done Somebody Wrong,” she switched to her enchanting violin, and it worked perfectly. Then Jacob and Dani tore up “Stormy Monday” on guitars as Tony led the way on B3. They started that format for “You Don’t Love Me,” such a delightful romp, but then Tony strapped on guitar to take a magical solo. They were firing on all six cylinders for certain.

“Hot ‘Lanta” slid into “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” with great anticipation from the crowd. Tony was on organ for “’Lanta” and the beginning of “Liz,” then joined the guitar army. And “Liz” is one of the songs Jacob loves to tear up most, so this was deluxe.

Shortly before Yral Morris and Miguel did their drum thing, it finally struck me that Big Bad John Werner (former bass player) was indeed very big and very bad. I have a thing for rhythm sections, you know, and this trio was just killing it. And Werner was huge all night. “Whipping Post” got the three-guitar treatment to close the set.

I am so glad I was there. I suspect all attendees felt the same way.

They covered Eat a Peach at Great Outdoors Jam on 07.04.15; we said:

What better way to follow up after the Dead (from Unlimited Devotion) than with the Allman Brothers Band, Come Back Alice-style. In December, they had covered Live at the Fillmore East, and it was a great event. This time, the band had been working on Eat a Peach. Critter (Copious Jones) was on guitar most of the set, and the second drum seat was filled by the ubiquitous Travis Young (Ajeva).

Seriously, the entire band and enlisted friends were awesome. Dani Jaye is best known for her superb violin (fiddle?) work, but she crushed the best guitar solo I’ve ever heard from her on “Les Brers.” I smiled as a friend asked, “When did she become such an asskicker?” The “Mountain Jam” clocked in at over 26 minutes. Tony Tyler was again his triple-threat self, channeling Gregg on B3 and vocals and wailing on guitar. And there was, of course, the obligatory Facebook family picture, courtesy of Bryan Edward. The set closed with a Tony solo on acoustic guitar for “Little Martha.” How fitting.

And last week at Gasparilla Music Festival, we raved:

Come Back Alice, a local band that has played major fests such as Hulaween, was on fire. After popular favorite “Coraline,” they band unveiled a new tune that might be their best work ever: “Love is the Answer.” It was a very powerful song, stretched out to give all band members the opportunity to solo, including guest bassist Taylor Gilchrist and guest keyboard man Mark Mayea (both from Ajeva). Then they blew up a superb Allman Brothers-like jam with both Tony Tyler and Dani Jaye on guitars. They closed with a stunning rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain,” their voices completely intertwined.

Tony Tyler describes the purpose of this Friday’s show:

We will be performing a night of The Allman Brothers Band in remembrance of Butch Trucks! Long live the Freight Train!

Joose opens the show Friday, March 24th, at 8 PM. Look for a separate article about this great quintet-upgraded-to-sextet on MusicFestNews shortly. Mayea and Rector are members of Joose.

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