Warren Haynes Presents: The Benifit Concert Vol. 2 CD

Warren Haynes Presents: The Benefit, Vol. 2 is the second album to be culled from Haynes' annual Christmas Jam benefit concerts. The first, Wintertime Blues: The Benefit Concert, released by Evil Teen Records in 2000, chronicled the 1999 show. This one is taken from the 2000 concert, held December 21 at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville, NC, with all proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity. Haynes, the Gov't Mule and Allman Brothers Band guitarist, leads things off with a couple of acoustic songs before turning things over to the Chris Duarte Band, which makes a strong impression with a version of the Band of Gypsys favorite "Who Knows." The Bottle Rockets, who follow, have more of a traditional mainstream rock sound than the Southern rock/jam band style favored by the other performers. The Christmas Jams are famous for arranging the temporary reunions of disbanded groups, and in 2000 the Aquarium Rescue Unit re-formed for an extended set, joined by Blues Traveler's John Popper on the lengthy final cut, "Time Is Free/Jack the Rabbit." Gov't Mule, sadly minus Allen Woody, who had died the previous August, is next, with Popper returning to the stage and also accompanying a set by Kevn Kinney of Drivin' n' Cryin'. Much about the Christmas Jams recalls the Allman Brothers Band, and finally this one brings the Allmans on formally, starting with Gregg Allman, accompanied by Haynes, doing "Come and Go Blues," followed by the whole band for a four-song set concluding with "Statesboro Blues." The concert is loose and friendly, with musicians coming and going, and is given over to extended performances of favorite songs, along with some individual indulgences. A good time and a good cause. ~ William Ruhlmann