The Allman Brothers Band returned to New York’s Beacon Theatre yesterday for the first show of its 13-night run at the historic venue. Though the Allman Brothers Band has performed close to 200 shows at the New York theater since 1989, the group moved its run uptown to the United Palace Theatre last year after being boxed out of the Beacon for an ill-fated Cirque du Soleil show. Gregg Allman returned to the venue for a performance with T-Bone Burnett this past October and the band formally announced its comeback during a press conference at the Beacon in November.

As founding Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks explained in a recent interview with Relix/Jambands.com, the group hopes to spice up its Beacon run by introducing some new covers and reviving some older catalog material. The band kicked off its 2011 run with a drum jam that led into the Allmans’ first known cover of Miles Davis’ “Spanish Key” from Bitches’ Brew (the ensemble opened its 2007 run at the Beacon by debuting Davis’ “In a Silent Way”). Soon after, the group busted out its first version of the Where It All Begins track “Sailin’ Across The Devil’s Sea” since 2005. The show’s setlist also included the Warren Haynes/Dickey Betts original “Kind of Bird”—a song the band revived at last year’s New York run—and Derek Trucks’ new original “Bag End.”

At the start of the Allman Brothers Band’s second set, drummer Jaimoe moved to the front of the stage to dedicate this year’s run to longtime roadie of Joseph “Red Dog” Campbell, who passed away earlier this year. The ABB will return to the Beacon tonight.

Here’s a look at last night’s setlist via the Allman Brothers Band’s homepage

Set 1:
Drums>
Spanish Key>
Drums>
Sailin’ Across The Devil’s Sea
I Walk On Gilded Splinters
Come And Go Blues
Worried Down With The Blues
Kind Of Bird
Trouble No More
Woman Across The River
One Way Out

Set 2:
Blind Willie McTell
Midnight Rider
High Cost Of Low Living
Bag End
Hoochie Coochie Man
Leave My Blues At Home>JaBuMaOt>
Leave My Blues At Home
Revival

E: Southbound