The Black Crowes Live 2005
The Orpheum Theater Boston ~ May 10th, 2005

The Black Crowes, up there with the Allman Brothers as jam band extraordinaire, put on one hell of a show last night. Sure, they've done that before. But the last time I saw them, which was near the end of their first trip around the block, and after the release of 'By Your Side', they appeared tired and bored. That show was at the Orpheum as well. But things were different last night, as they appeared a rejuvenated bunch. After nearly a four-year hiatus, they were awake and lively. Chris Robinson wouldn't say the same for the Orpheum crowd, though. But he did say that he thought the place sucked because drinking wasn't allowed inside the seated area, and smoking wasn't allowed anywhere in the building. Oh well, it must make for one hell of a party after the show, Chris; I'm sure.

Anyway, the guitar duo of Rich Robinson and Marc Ford was right on the money. Their tone was to die for. All rock guitarists should see these guys at least once, as they are true greats. Assorted eye candy of trade-off guitars throughout the show was truly incredible. Gibson Les Pauls, ES-335s, Fender Strats, Teles, and on and on. While Marc plugged into a dual rig Roccaforte, Rich assaulted us through his two Harry Joyce stacks. Chris' voice was right there all night long as well. And the fact that Steve Gorman was back on drums (the crowd let him know he was welcome, too), along with Sven Pipien on bass and Eddie Harsch on keyboards, was mere icing on the cake. The audience observed a stage show of more than a hundred orange electric candles in front of a background that resembled a Roman cathedral with eyes.

As I said, the jams were awesome, and the tone was incredible. The Crowes were back, in full classic country-rock style, complete with gospel and soul nuances. At the onset, though, just when you think they're going to rock the joint, they open with a couple of minutes of a carnival-like introduction into 'Greasy Grass River'. It was okay though, as I'm a fan of their whole repertoire. The two female backup singers got it going nicely.

Next was 'Sting Me', and it was a real crowd pleaser. Marc wailed a nice solo, letting us know a lead guitarist was in the building. Next came a twelve-minute jam that eventually became 'Black Moon Creeping'. A lot of nice wah-wah sounds and trade-off leads throughout.

A great version of Clapton and Bramlett's 'Coming Home' followed, with Claptonesque opening leads. Another jam, this one a thirteen minute version of 'Ballad In Urgency', led into the usual heart stopping intro to 'Wiser Time', one of my personal favorites. I was in rock heaven by this time.

The show continued with more greats, including 'Jealous Again', 'Sister Luck', 'Thorn In My Pride', 'Remedy', 'Bring On, Bring On', and 'A Conspiracy', with those unique open G tunings and crisp lead and rhythm tones, reminiscent of the school of Keith Richards and Ron Wood, which segues me nicely into the encore closer, a rockin' version of 'Happy', in which the Robinson brothers and Marc Ford took turns belting out vocals.

What's amazing is that a 2-CD set of the show could be bought ten minutes after the completion of the show. Isn't modern technology something? Though it was a whopping $25.00, it didn't seem to bother the thousand or so fans that stood in line for it afterward. Yours truly was one of them. Great show. Don't miss it. They're touring with Tom Petty this summer as well. Though it's great to see The Crowes with anyone, an actual Black Crowes show is the real deal.

The openers were a fine bunch of Brits by the name of 22-20s, an interesting 4-piece band with a root sound. They reminded me of a blues influenced Oasis or White Stripes.

Black Crowes Set List

Greasy Grass River
Sting Me
Jam into Black Moon Creeping
Comin' Home
Darling (Of The Underground Press)
Ballad In Urgency
Wiser Time
Jam into Thorn In My Pride
Sister Luck
Bring On, Bring On
By Your Side
A Conspiracy
Jealous Again
Remedy

Encore

Boomer's Story
Happy