Volunteer Jam

Volunteer Jam
Chevrolet Theatre
Wallingford, Connecticut
July 28, 2007
Tony Pijar

The Volunteer Jam, an annual southern rock jam extravaganza, headed by the southern master of ceremonies Mr. Charlie Daniels is a celebration of all things south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Daniels invites several southern rock groups of stature to join in on the party as well. In the past, we’ve had such luminaries as Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, Grinderswitch, and Molly Hatchet participate. This year the list includes The Marshall Tucker Band and The Outlaws.
The Outlaws have been welcomed back with embracing arms since their return a couple years ago. The band played all of their hits and a few from their soon-to-be-released album called “Full Circle”. Hughie Tomasson still has a commanding presence on stage as he peered out from underneath his black Stetson. He and guitarist Chris Anderson are a unique pair who play the hell out of their guitars. Given that this was a jam, before Hughie introduced their seminal southern rock anthem, “Green Grass and High Tides”, he invited members of The Charlie Daniels Band and The Tucker guys to come on stage. They, collectively, tore the place apart during the lengthy lead break to “Green Grass…”.
After a brief intermission, Marshall Tucker hit the stage and delighted us with the likes of “Fire on the Mountain”, “Heard it in a Love Song”. “Take the Highway”, and “Can’t you See.” They even unleashed a corking new song from their latest release, “The Next Adventure.” Doug Gray, the last remaining original member, has logged many miles, but was still taken aback by the overwhelming applause his band received. While the Charlie Daniels band is a bit too country for my tastes, there’s no denying that Daniels is The Man! He is 70 years old, about 6’ 3”, maybe three hundred pounds, has a full-bodied Santa Claus beard, and plays a mean fiddle and guitar. I was amazed at how fast his fingers flew around the fret board. Of course, we got their hits as well including the awesome “Legend of Wooley Creek”, “Still in Saigon”, “Long Haired Country Boy”, “The Devil went Down to Georgia”, and “The South’s gonna do it Again” where mostly every member of The Outlaws and Marshall Tucker came on stage for a climactic jam.
Every Volunteer Jam is a blessing and we know it, especially given that these experiences will soon become a rarity. At the conclusion of the show, we raised our beers in celebration of Thomasson, Gray and Daniels – may they long continue to keep the southern rock flag flying high.