Concert review: The best thing about the Black Crowes

I was drawn by the music. I stay for the community surrounding the band

Oct 31, 2024

From left to right, around the horn, Mike, me, Matt, Bill, Brittnie, Nathaniel and Bryce.

In high school and college as I listened to the Black Crowes, I had a few random friends who also loved the band, but knew nothing of the community surrounding it.

I’m sure it started at live shows, then grew from there with the internet. I wish I’d been aware of this community before the State of Amorica podcast, but I’m glad I found it.

On Oct. 26, I saw the Black Crowes at the Factory in Chesterfield, where I met up with a mix of old friends and new — all with varying degrees of Black Crowes fandom and distinctly different experiences with the band. It turned out to be a great time and the Crowes delivered a good setlist and a high-energy performance that was way too short.

The Robinson brothers of the Black Crowes, Chris (left) and Rich (right). Photo credit: Mike Provine

This was my fourth time seeing the Crowes since they got back together and went on tour in 2021, and fifth time overall. It was my second time seeing a show at the Factory in Chesterfield outside St. Louis, having seen Charley Crockett there in April.

For Charley Crockett, I’d never been in the venue and bought a ticket on the “premium deck,” which is just a dressed-up name for a terrible spot to stand. This time, our group all got general admission tickets and arrived early to get on the rail. It was a smart plan.

The Factory doesn’t have many good places to watch the show, but it does have a GREAT rail. The stage is low, which is perfect when you’re right up front, but not as great for the people behind. My group — concert buddy Mike and our friend Bryce, and fellow SOA Patreons Nathaniel and Brittnie, plus Brittnie’s man Matt and dad Bill — were among the first in line about 45 minutes before the doors opened. We immediately staked our place center-left, as was planned. It was a great spot, though we had to battle to keep it.

The view from the rail at the Factory in Chesterfield.

The crowd filled in after the opener, and it was packed. For the most part, it was a music-loving crowd fully into a show too loud to try to talk over. But, like when we saw the Crowes in Chicago at the Aragon Ballroom, there were some alcohol-fueled idiots.

I’m a little short of 6-2 and Bill is an inch or so taller than me. A woman standing behind us, who had arrived around the time the opener started at 7:30, commented: “I can’t believe how tall you guys are. You're so tall.” But her tone of voice didn’t sound like that was a good thing.

Bill just said: “Really? I’ve never heard that before.”

Who exactly did what later was a little confusing as the show was going on, but that woman at some point rammed into Bill, who was pushed into me. Later, she barreled straight into Brittnie, pushing her into the rail. Brittnie turned around and I thought a fight was on, but we were able to crowd her out. She didn’t give up and security got involved. There was another incident with a different but similar looking woman on the other side of me, but we were again able to hold our spots.

The music

On the way to the show I listened to Freak ‘n’ Roll … Into the Fog (released in 2006 from a 2005 show), and it’s a great live performance. I didn’t expect the band to reach those heights, but they got closer than I thought.

Vocally, the band sounds great. Chris has learned how to keep his voice sounding strong on the road — it’s better now than it was in 2005 — and the background vocals came through strong. Instrumentally, it’s tough to replace Steve Gorman, Marc Ford and Ed Harsch, but current Crowes drummer Cully Symington, guitarist Nico Bereciartua and keyboardist Erik Deutsch get better as a combination every time I see them. There’s always worry the Robinsons are going to come out on their next tour with different musicians on all the instruments, but it does seem like the mix they have is talented and beginning to develop a chemistry.

Sound-wise, lead vocals were low in the mix early and were sometimes drowned out by the guitars, but got better in the show’s second half.

Crowes’ setlists have been a source of frustration to fans who wish, in addition to longer sets with more jamming, there were nights at least a couple of the band’s five warhorses (“Hard to Handle,” “She Talks to Angels,” “Jealous Again,” “Twice as Hard” and “Remedy”) weren’t on the setlist, and were replaced by songs from the middle of their catalog (14 of the 18 songs on the set come from the band’s first two albums, or the latest album).

And while all five of those songs were on the setlist, there were some nice surprises. For the second time on tour, they performed “Descending,” with Deutsch getting the chance to show he could handle Harsch’s classic piano parts.

They did five songs from their latest album, Happiness Bastards, but shook it up some from the early part of the tour, with “Dirty Cold Sun” and “Bleed It Dry” welcome additions.

The “Thorn In My Pride” jam was even more stretched out than when I saw them in Chicago, and any time they play my favorite Black Crowes song, “My Morning Song,” it’s a good show. This was an excellent version.

Opener

If I’m being honest, I was annoyed when I heard the Effigies were opening for the Black Crowes, but figured I’d suffer through. The Black Crowes are NOT punk rock, though Chris Robinson seems to wish they were.

The Effigies, though, won me over. I’m not saying I’ll be listening to them much outside of this show (punk isn’t my thing), but they’re a damn good punk band (with an interesting and, at times, tragic history), and I appreciated something singer Geoff Sabin said, which was something to the effect of: “There’s more than one way to rock; thanks for being willing to listen.” Their song “Security” was fun, and I don’t know if it was coincidence or not that security guards took positions in front of the stage before the song, but it was hilarious and for the rest of the night when I saw them, in my head I was singing: “Security, security, security, security, security, security, SECURITY, SECURITY, SECURITY!”

From left to right, around the table, me, Bill, Bryce, Nathaniel, Mike, Matt and Brittnie.

Before the show meetup

We met up at 4 Hands Brewery just steps from the Factory, which is a nice setup. Ian from State of Amorica sent some SOA stickers and these cool Happiness Bastards oversized picks that I handed out to everyone.

Hanging with this group of people was special because it represented the beginning of my love of the Black Crowes, riding in Mike’s black truck in high school listening to Shake Your Moneymaker, to the people I’ve met in recent years through going to shows and becoming a part of the State of Amorica community.

Unlike me, Mike never drifted away from the band, but he also never became as into them as I have in recent years. It was an invitation from Mike to a Black Crowes show in 2021 that kickstarted my Crowes renaissance — he’d bought tickets from two people we knew, Julie and Matt. I graduated high school and in college lived with Julie’s brother Jon, so I’ve known Julie since we were kids. But it was only then that I learned they were longtime fans who have been to 14 Crowes shows.

In a real full circle moment, though Julie and Matt couldn’t make the meetup, they were able to be at the show.

I’ve known Mike’s friend Bryce for around 20 years and always known him as a big music fan. Bryce got into the Crowes at the same time Mike and did (he’s about three years younger than us), and fell off around the same time I did — 2001’s Lions. Bryce, though, never really got back into the Crowes — not because he hated the music; he just shifted in different directions and never circled back. I, obviously, directed him to immediately seek out Band, “Feathers,” “Exit” and Before the Frost … Until the Freeze. Oh, and also Marc Ford and Rich Robinson’s solo work.

Brittnie, ironically, got into the Black Crowes with Lions, as Bryce and I were jumping off. She stuck with the band, and though didn’t love some of the Americana detours of Warpaint and Before the Frost ... Until the Freeze, she did love the back catalog and has always stuck with the band. When she met Matt, he loved Primus as much as she loves the Black Crowes, and they each became a fan of the other’s favorite.

Final thoughts

The band isn’t exactly what we want it to be, and the mis-steps are plenty and well-documented.

Yes, they should have played longer. They should have played “Wiser Time,” “Exit,” “Under a Mountain,” “Greasy Grass River” for Brittnie and Matt, and “Girl From a Pawnshop” for me. And they should’ve played a Grateful Dead song in honor of the death of Phil Lesh a few days before.

But give credit where credit is due. No one thought when the Robinsons finally went on tour in 2021 they’d still be together in 2024. They still put on a good show and while their new music doesn’t touch their classic material, it remains strong. They’ve made multiple lineup changes since reuniting, but seem to have landed on a group they’re comfortable with. I’m excited to see what comes next.