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Thursday, October 1, 2009
Photos / Live Reviews / setlist / News Live review: Black Crowes
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Black Crowes w/ Truth & Salvage Co.
The Fillmore Charlotte
Sept. 30, 2009
The Deal: Black Crowes bring along Truth & Salvage Co. for a show at The Fillmore.
The Good: Truth & Salvage Co. kicked off the night with a 45-minute set of their Southern-flavored, sometimes sleepy rock. Their mellow approach fit right in with the Black Crowes as they almost looked like some reincarnation of The Band — drummer, keyboards and two guitarists all singing. It's no surprise that the stoner band's second song was about weed, either.
The Black Crowes started off their two-hour set with the first song from their new album, Before the Frost..., "Good Morning Captain," — it set the tone for the night, as the band played seven more songs from the disc.
Singer Chris Robinson's vocals remain strong, but raspy, and while brother Rich can still play a hell of a guitar, it's Luther Dickinson who remains the show stealer quite often. His bluesy, pick-less style offers some great moments in jams. He tore it up on "Been a Long Time" before the band left at the end of its main set.
Robinson didn't say much to the crowd outside of a couple of "Thank You" notes. Instead, all remained focused on the task at hand and the presence of two backup singers gave some vocal depth to Robinson.
"Hits" like "Remedy" and "Hard to Handle" were given slight changes in the cadence of the verses to speed them up a bit and give them a bit of new flavor. The crowd was into the entire set and singing along for a good part of it — most evident at a break in "Hard to Handle." Definitely a similar vibe to the sold-out shows at the Neighborhood Theatre last year.
Random: Angie Harmon, or a lookalike, was seen in
The Bad: Considering all the material they have and that they played two nights last time around, I almost expected the Crowes to play for longer than their two-hour set. But it was a solid two hours that I really can't complain about. I did expect something from the other new album, Until the Frost..., though. As far as visually, the concert was fantastic except for moments when the lights would flash red and blue creating almost a 3-D look (without the glasses) that was actually painful to look at.
The Verdict: While Truth & Salvage Co. is a band to keep your ears out for, The Crowes' always continue to impress. They've morphed from a solid Southern rock band into something more bluesy and soulful and it's only made them stronger. As long as Chris and Rich can get along, let's hope the great music continues. After seeing the band a handful of times, it's almost like they're going through the motions — but instead of being boring, it's going through the motions of expressions of emotion and talent that keep the listener wanting more.
Black Crowes setlist
Good Morning Captain
Make Glad
Under a Mountain
Another Roadside Tragedy
Appaloosa
Whoa Mule
What is Home
Young Man Old Man
I Ain't Hiding
Nonfiction
Shady Grove
Houston Don't Dream About Me
Hard to Handle
Remedy
Been a Long Time
Encore
Oh Josephine
Don't Do It
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