Blackberry Smoke pulled into Albany NY with their mix of Southern Rock, Hard Rock, and Country all wrapped up in one ripping package. The band is out on the road supporting their latest release “Be Right Here� and wasted no time getting down to business.

Frontman Charlie Starr knows how to work a crowd, and the atmosphere was a full on party. Guitars were changed after almost every song, and the band appeared to be having a ball. As most first timers do, the band seemed enamored with this strange egg shaped building they were playing in. Starr even told a story about a friend who told him he climbed up on the roof of the egg, proceeded to smoke a joint, and ended up getting in some trouble. Starr made sure to point out that he neither condoned climbing on the roof or drugs. After that story, they launched into “Medicate My Mind�. A poignant moment occurred when Charlie dedicated “Azalea� to their former drummer Brit Turner who succumbed to cancer earlier this year. The crowd rose to their feet in tribute and the moment seemed to touch the band greatly.

The band pulled out fan favorites such as “Good One Comin’ On�, “Pretty Little Lie�, and “One Horse Town�. A personal favorite for me was “Waiting For The Thunder� which just rocked, and featured Charlie playing a Gibson Explorer. Paul Jackson provides perfect backup vocals, and also gets a chance to shine on guitar, along with touring member Benji Shanks who played some mean slide guitar. The band is rounded out by keyboardist Brandon Still, bassist Richard Turner, and drummer Kent Aberle. The band always tips their hat to their heroes, and they featured snippets from Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, these guys hit a home run in Albany on Saturday night, make sure not to miss them.

Eric Porter