John Paul Jones at Warren Haynes 20th Annual Christmas Jam
JPJ was a busy man over 3 days in Asheville, North Carolina, from December 11th through December 13th as a guest musician for several acts. He played bass, keyboards, and a lot of mandolin. A round-up of his performances follows, courtesy '3hrsoflunacy' of Led Zeppelin mailing list FBO and LZ website Royal-Orleans:
2008.12.11
1. DEL MCCOURY BAND (1 song - "Angeline the Baker")
2. WARREN HAYNES (2 songs - "Soulshine" and "Going to California")
3. GOV'T MULE (2 songs - "I Can't Quit You Baby" and "Get out of My Life Woman")
2008.12.12
1. DEL MCCOURY BAND (2 songs - "Squirrel Hunter" and "My Love Will not Change")
2. WARREN HAYNES (2 songs - "Soulshine" and "Going to California")
3. ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND (2 songs - "Dazed and Confused" and "Mountain Jam")
2008.12.13
1. MICHAEL FRANTI & JAY BOWMAN (5 songs - "Love Don't Wait", "Sweet Little Lies", "All I Want is You", "Hey World", and "I Got Love for You")
2. BEN HARPER & RELENTLESS 7 (1 song - "Good Times, Bad Times")
3. GOV'T MULE (5 songs - "Livin' Lovin' Maid", "Since I've Been Loving You", "No Quarter", "The Ocean", and "When the Levee Breaks")
From the Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times:
December 13, 2008
Jammers rock the night away
Paul Clark and Carol Motsinger
Not to borrow a line from a song played at the Christmas Jam, but really, wonder how tomorrow could ever follow today?
That, of course, is a play on a lyric from Led Zeppelin's "Going to California," which guitarist and jam founder Warren Haynes played with Zeppelin's bassist, John Paul Jones, at around 1 a.m.
In what was the biggest surprise so far in the 2008 Christmas Jam, Jones came farther than anyone ever to participate in the event, Haynes said before introducing Jones, who played mandolin.
Click here to watch video from the Christmas Jam.
Jones played earlier in the night with Del McCoury's bluegrass outfit. His second time on stage featured Haynes on acoustic guitar and vocals, with Jones once again picking on the mandolin.
The duo, who smiled and hugged at the end of their short set, also played "Soulshine" by The Allman Brothers. The crowd sang along, but truly roared with Haynes substituted the word "Carolina" for "California" in the "Going to California" cover.
Derek Trucks Band finished playing a little before 2 a.m., keeping the jam band spirit of the event by playing longer songs stuffed with guitar solos. One tune lasted close to 10 minutes, while the crowd, still strong, swayed along.
The Allman Brothers finished out the night, hitting the stage at around 2:30 a.m. and performing until about 4:20 a.m.
Haynes wailed on his guitar again, and was easily the hardest working man on stage tonight. He's played a few solos with almost every act on the bill.
Haynes has been a long term member of the Allman Brothers.
The band is also continuing the covers trend of the night. They've already played a version of Van Morrison's "And it stoned me."
As the clock clicked past 3 a.m., the crowd thinned, but the the die hard fans rocked to the final band of the night.
Jones surprised the fans that did remain and played the instrument he is most famous for mastering - the electric bass guitar. He jammed to Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused."
The band returned for one encore the Allman Brother's classic, "One way out."
In a rare moment for an event defined by surprise collaborations, Travis Tritt shone brightest alone, with his guitar, on stage during his 2008 Christmas Jam set.
The country crooner sung the heck out of his ballad, "Anymore," before the rest of his band, which included guitarist and jam founder Warren Haynes, returned to rock until 12:40 a.m.
Tritt shared the story behind songs, such as the instrumental "Picking at it." He said the title comes from his mother telling him to stop picking at his bug bites.
Singer-songwriter Joan Osborne finished her set around 11:40 p.m., in which Haynes crossed guitars with Audley Freed, who once played with the rock band, The Black Crowes.
The two traded solos during a blues tune. She also covered a ballad by local favorites, Jump, Little Children, who played in Asheville before they disbanded.
"It's my first time (at the Jam)," Osborne said, "So be gentle with me."
She later thanked the crowd for "inviting her to the party" and warned she might bum rush the stage during other people's sets.
In honor of the holiday, Osborne finished her set with "Christmas in New Orleans."
Warren Haynes and Gov't Mule took the Civic Center stage first on Friday. Against the cascading sounds of drummer Matt Abts' rolling cymbals, Haynes opened with Middle Eastern music-inspired improvisation, then asked the dancing, whistling and cheering crowd: “How're you doing?
“I would ask you how you're feeling, but I think you're feeling good,” Haynes told the crowd. “It's not that I don't care. It's that I already know the answer.”
The crowd returned the love with yells and cheers. The two-night Christmas Jam had begun.
A few songs later, Abts was hammering a wicked drum line to a Warren Haynes solo when Angie White Rikard, a fan from Charlotte, declared Abts “the best rock ‘n' roll drummer still alive.”
Rikard couldn't believe her luck in being there.
She had hoped to attend but didn't have a ticket until her cousin unexpectedly had one to spare. Rikard has been listening to Haynes since he hooked up with the Allman Brothers.
“Something about him strikes a chord with me,” she said, pacing herself for a night that was scheduled to go way past 1 a.m. “This is a great night. You get to see so many bands. You just have to hang in there.”
Dumpstaphunk took the stage next, about 8:30 p.m. And Katy White got her wish.
She loves to dance, and Dumpstaphunk is one nasty dance band.
White was in the middle of the crowd, grooving with about nine of her friends, all of them students at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga.
They came from all over, kind of a family reunion among friends, White said. She's from Savannah, Ga., and she, like most of her friends, would be spending the night in Asheville, she said.
But not until they did some dancing.
It looked like a near-sellout crowd for the jam's 20th year in the 7,200-capacity arena. People had gathered and anticipated the show for hours. Bobby Starnes and Trey Hensley were among the first few hundred fans inside the Civic Center.
Both are guitar players, and both had come especially to see Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks. Starnes and Hensley, both from Johnson City, Tenn., were standing right in front of the stage, prepared to worship at Haynes' feet.
Before the show began, Abts, the drummer for Gov't Mule, was standing backstage, watching the crews make last-minute adjustments to the stage.
He's taken part in 12 of these Christmas Jams, and not just because he's a drummer in Haynes' band.
“It's all about Habitat for Humanity,” he said, mentioning the beneficiary of all the Christmas Jams.
“And this is Christmas,” Abts said. He said he spends Christmas with his family in Los Angeles, but “it feels more like Christmas here” in Asheville, he said, pointing to the audience in front of the stage.
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