Warren Haynes and Railroad Earth
August 6, 2015
PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
Cincinnati, OH
Review by Matt Wickstrom
Photos by Tom Wickstrom
Continuing with his Ashes and Dust tour, southern rock pioneer Warren Haynes made a return to the buckeye state Thursday night with special guests Railroad Earth, who back Haynes up on most of his new solo album, also titled Ashes and Dust. The show, inside the PNC Pavilion at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati began with an hour long set of Railroad Earth before Haynes eventually took the stage for a set backed up by the New Jersey sextet.
Railroad Earth opened up the night with all cylinders firing during a performance of “Cold Water”. After “Cold Water”, Railroad Earth transitioned into a strung out jam during “Like a Buddha”, featuring a soothing yet action-packed fiddle solo by Tim Carbone, who truly shined on stage with a full cast of all-star musicians. “Chasin’ a Rainbow”, one of Railroad Earth’s more popular live cuts, made an appearance in the band’s opening set.
To close out their set, members of Railroad Earth ushered Haynes, man of the hour, out onto the stage. Haynes obliged, and took ahold of an electric guitar for Railroad Earth staple “Bird in a House”. The crowd in attendance at the pavilion went bonkers when Haynes shuffled onto the stage, and erupted even louder as “Bird in a House” came to a close.
After a short set break, Haynes took the stage solo and performed covers of Elton John’s “Indian Sunset” and Phil Lesh and Friends’ “The Real Thing”. For the set’s third song “Back Where I Started”, Haynes welcomed Railroad Earth’s Andrew Altman, Carey Harmon, and Andy Goessling to the stage to take part in the Derek Trucks Band cover tune. After the song, the remaining members of Railroad Earth took the stage with for the remainder of the set. A vast array of covers rounded out the set, including Fleetwood Mac’s “Gold Dust Woman”, The Allman Brothers Band’s “Dusk Till Dawn”, “Blue Sky”, and “Spots of Time”; and Phil Lesh and Friends’ “Patchwork Quilt”.
After rousing applause as “Spots of Time” wound down to close out the set, Haynes and company retook the stage after a quick breather for their encore, lasting two songs. The encore began with a performance of “Hallelujah Boulevard”, a track off Haynes’ new CD, and closed with a surprising cover of Garth Brooks’ “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House”.
Set list information, along with a photo recap, can be found below.
Set One (Railroad Earth): Cold Water > Like a Buddha > Chasin’ a Rainbow, Bread & Water, Storms, Tuba Mirum > Face With a Hole > Bird in a House*
*w/Warren Haynes on electric guitar
Set Two (Warren Haynes w/RRE): Indian Sunset^, The Real Thing^, Back Where I Started~, Is it Me or You, Wanderlust, Word on the Wind, Beat Down the dust, Gold Dust Woman, Company Man, Stranded in Self Pity, Coal Tattoo > Dusk Till Dawn, Patchwork Quilt > Blue Sky > Spots of Time
^ Warren Haynes solo
~ Warren Haynes w/Andrew Altman, Carey Harmon, and Andy Goessling of RRE
Encore: Hallelujah Boulevard, Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House
