A Pageant homecoming: Duane Betts and Blackberry Smoke

My first time back at the St. Louis venue in almost 22 years was one to remember

The Pageant before the Blackberry Smoke show on Friday, April 12, 2024.

When Blackberry Smoke announced their slate of shows that included the Pageant in St. Louis, I knew I wanted to go. It had been close to 22 years since I’d set foot in what I’d always considered my favorite place to see a concert.

But I didn’t realize how special it would be until I walked into the empty Pageant before the start of the show.

As I was trying to process being there for the first time in that long, I looked up at the stage and show opener Duane Betts was warming up with who was a surprise to me then — and was a surprise to the rest of the crowd at the show later — fellow Allman Betts Band member Devon Allman.

This turned out to be the best show I’ve been to so far this year, and ranks among my most memorable ever. It’s definitely the most fun I’ve had attending a show alone — I think I’m getting the hang of it!

Here’s a blow-by-blow of the night:

Blackberry Smoke photo op

Just me hanging with the guys from Blackberry Smoke for about seven seconds.

I’d heard much about Blackberry Smoke’s post-show meet-and-greets and figured the Pageant would be a great place to give it a try. I turn 50 in May, and decided to make it a birthday present to myself.

Except … on this tour Blackberry Smoke changed up its meet-and-greet. It’s now a pre-show “photo op” — no more personal photos, bringing things to be signed and having conversations. But you do get a swag bag, with the highlight being a 11 x 17 poster signed by all the members of the band.

This is the signed poster that I’m planning on framing and hanging in my office.

If I’m being honest, if I’d known it was just going to be a photo op, I probably wouldn’t have done it. BUT, the proceeds support the Lana Turner Fund, which provides funding for childhood cancer research and patient/family support — Lana is the daughter of founding Blackberry Smoke member Brit Turner, who died of cancer in February. That, alone, made it worth it.

My plan for the photo op was to make an impression and try to have a quick conversation. I wore a Steepwater Band T-shirt and it elicited the response I’d hoped — as I stepped up to get my picture with the band, I heard guitarist Paul Jackson say, “I like your shirt,” to which lead singer Charlie Starr agreed. But as I began to try to spit out the response I’d prepared about how I hoped to see them in Decatur in July, it was time to smile for the camera and get the next group up.

It went by too fast, but I don’t begrudge the band for changing the meet-and-greets. There were a lot of people there — I’m not sure how many, but it was more than 30 — and having to have some kind of personal interaction with all of them would’ve taken a lot of time and effort in addition to the already grueling process of rehearsing, playing and traveling. Sometimes people have to make decisions that are best for them.

Pre-show activity

This was my pre-show selfie that I hoped would show how tiny the Pageant is, but this doesn’t do it justice. It’s a small space that comfortably holds a lot of people — perfect for live music.

The meet and greet did get me in the venue early where I was able to watch the Allman Betts warm up, and and I was able to buy my Duane Betts and Blackberry Smoke merch, take it back to my car (parking at the Pageant is outstanding — right behind the building) and get back in to hang out in the near-empty building until the doors opened for everyone else.

What struck me most was how small the inside of the Pageant was. When I was there in both 2001 (for Lucinda Williams) and 2002 (for Wilco), it seemed much bigger to me. For Wilco, I’d stood at the back of the general admission area, just in front of the bar. My memory is the band didn’t seem close at all. But as I stood in the empty room in the same spot I had 22 years earlier, the stage seemed impossibly close.

The Pageant the first time I was there, seeing Lucinda Williams, on Sunday, July 15, 2001.

Much to my surprise, I was feeling social. I met a guy from Arkansas, which seemed crazy to me, but he said it was only 3 1/2 hours from St. Louis. I also met a couple from Jersey County, Illinois, who had also been at the show in New Berlin last year — my first Blackberry Smoke show.

Most of the early arrivers went for seats, but I’d already decided I was going to be on the rail front and center for this show — a first for me at a Blackberry Smoke show.

It was a great mix of people near me on the rail. Two of the guys were real concert vets. They didn’t know each other, but had over 1,000 shows between them and both leaned toward harder rock and metal. The woman next to me was seeing Blackberry Smoke for the first time and also seeing a concert on the rail for the first time. And the woman standing next to her was a Steepwater fan — she’d seen the band in St. Louis several times and once caught a drumstick from Steepwater’s Joe Winters. Another woman behind me to the other side followed Little Feat around the country, so we talked some Little Feat.

Duane Betts and Palmetto Motel

Duane Betts performing at the Pageant.

Duane Betts opening was a bonus that really helped push this show over the top for me. The other times I’ve seen Blackberry Smoke, the openers have ranged from bad to decent, but no one the quality level of Betts and his brilliant fellow guitarist Johnny Stachela — a world class slide player.

(If you didn’t already know, Betts is the son of Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts and looks a lot like his dad, who he played with for many years before striking out on his own with the Allman Betts Band and solo work.)

Stachela’s first amp went out after one song and was replaced mid-song. When his guitar tone suddenly fell in with the song, it immediately enriched the sound and caused the crowd to erupt, brining a smile to Betts’ face.

Johnny Stachela on guitar for Duane Betts and Palmetto Motel.

Betts brought out Devon Allman and they did Allman Betts song “Magnolia Road,” and then Betts said, “We’re going to do an old one,” and they did Allman Brothers classic “Blue Sky.” I haven’t always been a fan of Devon Allman’s work with the Allman Betts Band, but he sounded great.

I’d have liked to have seen Betts with a keyboard player and a full set, but this was a good showcase for Blackberry Smoke fans who may not have been familiar with him — and it was definitely a treat to get Devon Allman as a bonus. Both came out again during Blackberry Smoke’s set for the Allman Brothers classic “Midnight Rider.”

Later, after Blackberry Smoke was finished, I ducked into the merch area and saw Betts was still in there taking photos with fans, so I got a quick selfie with him. I knew he often did this and had planned out what I was going to say in the encounter, but like with Blackberry Smoke earlier, the sefife was over in an instant and I didn’t say what I wanted to say.

Me with Duane Betts after the show.

What I told him was that I loved his music, which is true. But what I meant to say and wished I’d said is that I love the way his music honors his father’s but has a style of its own. Either way, it was a cool moment.

Blackberry Smoke

If you take a close look at this photo from Blackberry Smoke photographer Andy Sapp that was posted on the band’s Facebook page, you can see me.

This was my fourth time seeing Blackberry Smoke (fifth if you count a Charlie Starr/Benji Shanks acoustic show). The band isn’t known for being particularly loud, but being directly in front of the bass drum blew the hair on my arms up.

What stood out being that close is the energy Blackberry Smoke singer Charlie Starr puts in. The rest of the band is fairly static, but Starr is dancing, moving all over the stage and coming to the front of it. Even toward the end of the show, as they wrapped up the pre-encore portion with “Little Bit Crazy,” Starr was head-banging with his hair flopping up and down like a kid.

Charlie Starr standing right in front of me when he came out in front of the stage.

I’ve pointed out before how funny Starr is and this night was no different. I don’t know that he could be a pro comedian, but he could definitely perform some musical comedy.

There were several occasions when, in honor of being in St. Louis, Charlie began playing Chuck Berry songs. He called Berry “the greatest songwriter to have ever walked the earth.” Before performing the final song of the night (always “Ain’t Much Left of Me”), Charlie started playing and singing “Promised Land,” then said, “I just can’t stop playing Chuck Berry songs tonight.” Then he looked at Blackberry Smoke guitarist Paul Jackson and said, “Paul wanted to play ‘My Ding-a-ling,’” to which everyone erupted in laughter. Then Charlie started playing it and the crowd took over, singing the chorus.

“See,” Charlie said. “I told you he was the greatest songwriter to have ever walked the earth.”

Starr humor and warmth comes across in the music, too. Blackberry Smoke definitely isn’t a pretentious band — they’re the opposite. During “Watcha Know Good,” Charlie and Benji broke into the “Stairway to Heaven” solo to end the song and it worked perfectly.

The setlist from Blackberry Smoke’s show.

After the band walked off, I stuck around to see if I could get a setlist and I was one of the first people the stage-hand picked to get one. My wife always makes fun of me because I collect brochures and pieces of paper as souvenirs, so setlists are my style.

When I told my wife about the lady who follows Little Feat around the country, she said she thought that would be boring to see the same band every night. But I could definitely, at least for a few weeks, follow Blackberry Smoke around and not get bored. There are songs they play every night, but I haven’t gotten tired of any of those. In fact, I don’t really care for “Ain’t Got the Blues” on the album, but live, it always delivers.

There are things Charlie talks about at every show — they dedicate a song to Brit Turner at each show now and it was tough to keep dry eyes when the Pageant erupted in a “Brit” chant.

But the band shakes up the setlist enough; Charlie is just so loose and genuinely loves being on stage and embraces the front man role in a really likeable way; and the fan base is generally reflective of Charlie’s vibe — I think it could be a lot of fun to take two weeks when they have a bunch of shows and hit as many as you could.

But for now, I’ll bask in the glow of this one … until what I hope is a memorable weekend with the Black Crowes in Chicago on Friday and JJ Grey & Mofro in Bloomington on Sunday.

Those shows have a tough act to follow.

Videos

Here are some videos I took at the show. There are a ton more (and better) videos from the show on YouTube as well.

• Duane Betts and Palmetto Motel’s “Saints to Sinners”

• Duane Betts and Palmetto Motel perform “Blue Sky” with Devon Allman.

• Charlie Starr doing some call-and-response with the crowd.

• Blackberry Smoke performing “Azalea.”

• Blackberry Smoke performing “Restless.”

• Up close with Charlie Starr on “One Horse Town.”

• Duane Betts, Devon Allman and Johnny Stachela join Blackberry Smoke for “Midnight Rider.”