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Levon Helm Band w/ Olabelle and Dr. Dog


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What a show last night at Philadelphia's Electric Factory. Dr. Dog opened the show, and put on their usual blazing performance.

The sound is usually shite at the Factory, and Dr. Dog being the opening band, got the shaft. But they still killed it. Set list (in no particular order): "Aint It Strange", "The World May Never Know", "Alaska", "The Way The Lazy Do", "Worst Trip", "The Girl", killer new bluesy song with Toby's usually killer souful vocalizations, "My Old Ways", "From." Maybe one more.

 

Olabelle put on a nice set, although it was short. Great musicianship all around, great 4 and 5 part vocal harmonies. They did a pretty cool version of "Aint No More Cane on The Brazos."

 

And, the legend himself, Levon Helm. What a frigging show this band put on. I'd be tempted to call it a blues/honkytonk/country/gospel/roots revival, but there aint no revival here! This was the real deal, done by one of the originals. The band featured a 4 piece horn section, including Howard Johnson(!). Larry Campbell on guitar/violin/mandolin simply killed. The set included "Long Black Veil", "Ophelia", "Rag Mama Rag", "The Shape I'm In", "Chest Fever" with intro done by Larry Campbell on the guitar, Bruce's "Atlantic City", and "The Weight", among about 18 other songs. All in all, they played for nearly 2 and 1/2 hours. They brought out Little Sammy Davis to play harmonica and sing a few old blues numbers, and he killed. The highlight for me was hearing "Tears Of Rage", sung by guitarist Jimmy Vivino. They played a bunch from Dirt Farmer. What a night. Being within 20-30 feet of Levon Helm and all that musical power was just a treasure to behold. I had to jump the barrier to nab a setlist after the show, was scolded by the bouncer, but that was worth it. WHAT A SHOW!!!!

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I was recently at a Midnight Ramble at Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock, NY and it was one of the best shows I have seen. His studio is great and the music was timeless. Larry Campbell could be the best guitarist you have never heard of. He plays in Phil Lesh & Friends so he does not get that much exposure, but he is awesome!

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Campbell was also in Bob Dylan's band for six or seven years. In my opinion, the combination of Campbell and Charlie Sexton on guitars marked Bob's best line up of the Never Ending Tour.

 

Agreed - there has been a serious drop off since LC left Dylan's "cowboy" band. I'm sorry I passed on the Levon show, but I was kind of saving up for Wilco (Philly and Nashville)...not to mention MMW is playing at Penn tomorrow night for $15 if anyone's interested.

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It's a shame, Levon didn't jam with Dr. Dog, especially on "Alaska," which is the best Band sounding song I think I've ever heard. Sounds like a great, great time. I've gotta catch one of those barn shows some day.

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>Campbell was also in Bob Dylan's band for six or seven years. In my opinion, the combination of Campbell and Charlie

Sexton on guitars marked Bob's best line up of the Never Ending Tour.

 

I agree. I did like the Bucky Baxter era shows, as well.

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Yeah, I was at that show last weekend also. It was a blast! Can you do me a huge favor and post the setlist? I don't mean to be a burden, but I have a bad habit of keeping a scrapbook of all the shows I go to and I like to include the setlists (I have hundreds). Most shows I can find online, but seem to be having trouble tracking this one down. Many thanks in advance.

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Yeah, I was at that show last weekend also. It was a blast! Can you do me a huge favor and post the setlist? I don't mean to be a burden, but I have a bad habit of keeping a scrapbook of all the shows I go to and I like to include the setlists (I have hundreds). Most shows I can find online, but seem to be having trouble tracking this one down. Many thanks in advance.

 

Well, I only nabbed part of the setlist, it seems it took up two sheets of paper. Here's the half that I have:

 

1. Memphis

2. Mail Train

3. Ophelia

4. Everything Gonna Be Alright

5. 40 Days

6. Fannie Mae

7. Long Black Veil

8. I Wanna Know

9. Got Me A Woman

10. Atlantic City

11. Ashes Of Love

12. Did You Love Me

13. Gotta Get My Baby

14. I Aint Got No Home

15. Rag Mama Rag

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