After attending the Aug. 8 Steve Earle/Allman Brothers concert at The World, I found myself both entertained and disgusted.
Earle, who opened the show, was brilliant. He played his unique brand of rock, clearly influenced by his troubled drug-addicted past, with honesty and heartfelt emotion. One could not help but be moved by a man who came full-circle, from drug addiction and prison to a solid performer.
Yet, following Earle’s striking performance I found myself being led down an organically constructed path of deviant behavior. After an introduction that informed a twenty-something crowd of dead-head wannabes that the evening’s weather was perfect for growing mushrooms, the Allman Brothers took the psychedelic stage. The performance consisted of long drawn-out jam sessions that had no resemblance to the Allman Brother hits I knew.
Note to the Allman Brothers: If you want to increase your influence and not just your popularity with today’s youth, concentrate on making new music about the lessons you’ve learned form your lives and stop trying to lure new fans with a message of drug use. In fact, you should take a tip from Steve Earle and learn that it is songwriting and performance that are the keys to fan loyalty.
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