The Tedeschi Trucks Band continued their fall residency tour at the Beacon Theater on Wednesday making it their 43rd Show at the historic venue. Special guests Jorma Kaukonen and Marcus King sat in with the full 12-piece band on their material and incredible covers by great blues artists.
TTB opened their set with a spectacular cover of The Lovin Spoonful’s “Darling Be Home Soon.” After that, they performed “Signs, High Times” off their most recent album with Mike Mattison and Susan trading lead vocals. Derek stepped in with an incredible guitar solo that left the crowd awestruck.
Another highlight of the night was a cover of The Allman Brothers Band “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin” with Gabe Dixon on lead vocals. Once again Derek’s guitar playing was masterful and left me with chills. For me it’s a bit nostalgic to see an Allman Brothers tune played at this historic venue where so many legendary ABB shows have taken place.
After the band performed “Hear Me” and “Do I Look Worried” they brought back Jorma to the stage for two more songs. The first was a Bob Dylan cover of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” with Derek trading guitar licks with Jorma who I’m sure is one of his heroes based on the expression he had on his face. The next song they performed was another cover, this time of Charles Segar’s “Key to the Highway.” Once again, Mike Mattison stepped up with extraordinary vocals while Jorma and Susan traded licks and Derek closed the tune with his renowned slide guitar. Jorma got a much deserved standing ovation as he left the stage.
Rising star Marcus King made a surprise appearance for a blues heavy performance of Sleepy John Estes’ “Leaving Trunk,” also featuring Mattison on vocals. King also stuck around to perform a cover of Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Volunteered Slavery,” a tune originally recorded in 1968. Marcus also received a huge ovation from the sold out crowd at the conclusion of the song.
