Black Crowes @ Massey Hall - Oct.27, 2010

[edger]

Your vestal selves may find them a little 'hard to handle', but I suspect you'll find yourself feeling more than satisfied amidst the attempt

[deranger]

First show? wow. It may well be your last as well. I'm thinking "indefinite hiatus" will be several years with a "reunion" tour to follow sometime after 2016.

I really hope Rich does some more solo stuff. I thought Paper was brilliant.

Anyway, Weds. will hopefully be amazing.

[NewRider]

Also looking for extras.

arrghhh...

[Schwa.]

I don't understand the 'wow' of it. I've seen 10 million shows in lieu of not seeing the Crowes. Just wasn't in the cards until now.

[edger]

Well its certainly a good hand to be dealt me thinks. This will be my first time seeing them in a venue as intimate as Massey Hall. I've seen them at Bonnarroo and Rothbury which are obviously a whole different scale entirely, and then also had the privilege of making my way to second row of their show at John Labatt centre. That's where I REALLY fell in love. But I suspect the Massey pairing might just be the trump card.

[Kanada Kev]

one more sleep

[Schwa.]

Giggidy!

[deranger]

sorry, the 'wow' was mainly because they've been around so long (20 years) and I figured if you (you being anyone for whom this is a first Crowes show) hadn't seen them by now it was either because you're very young or just not a fan at all. I realize it also may not have been in the cards until now but for fans of live music who have been around for awhile I thought a Crowes show at some point in a 20 year career would maybe have been a given.

but I'm also a super fan who have seen them many times so I'm biased.

no disrespect intended.

[The D Funk]

had tix for them couple times before but life happens and it just wasnt in the cards. Looking forward to tomorrow!

[Schwa.]

i reread that today and figured the wow was more like a "wow you're going to love the fuck out of this show then" wow.

Re-giggidy!!!

[Kanada Kev]

nice jamming from a couple of weeks ago

[TimmyB]

I'm getting excited for tonight's 'Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys' Black Crowes gig.

Peace,

Tim

PS Here's hoping for a Neil Young and/or a Band cover.

[Northern Wish]

They play Don't Do It about once out of every 4 shows.....

[briguy]

good times in Toronto already. There's a gang of us at the InterContinental getting ready to go for eats and drinks. Crowes are on sharp at 7:30. Doors at 6:30. See ya there.

[peipunk]

I am patiently waiting for an onslaught of "WOWOWOW"s...

[TimmyB]

THE BLACK CROWES

MASSEY HALL

OCTOBER 27, 2010

7:31 pm

- acoustic set -

JEALOUS AGAIN

HOTEL ILLNESS

SOUL SINGING

LAST PLACE THAT LOVE LIVES

THORN IN MY PRIDE

WHAT IS HOME

DO RIGHT WOMAN

WHOA MULE

SHE TALKS TO ANGELS

MY MORNING SONG

8:40 pm (1 hour and 09 minutes)

8:52 pm

- electric set -

(ONLY) HALFWAY TO EVERYWHERE

I AIN’T HIDING

HIGH HEAD BLUES

BALLAD IN URGENCY ->

WISER TIME

DARLING OF THE UNDERGROUND PRESS

OH JOSEPHINE

HARD TO HANDLE

REMEDY

NO SPEAK NO SLAVE

- encore -

OH SWEET NUTHIN

10:27 pm (1 hour and 34 minutes)

(Total time 2 hour and 43 minutes)

[Jay Funk Dawg]

wow great set list...

was there 2 guitarists? who was on the second?

[TimmyB]

Luther Dickinson from the North Mississippi All-Stars, the Word has been with the Black Crowes since 2008 playing with Rich Robinson.

Chris Robinson also played guitar on three or four occasions throughout the night (The Last Place that Love Lives, Do Right Woman, I Ain't Hiding and Oh Sweet Nuthin').

Peace,

Tim

[Jay Funk Dawg]

oh.. he's a badass guitar player too that Luther... how did they mesh? I really liked Marc Ford's playing... he was there at the last Crowes show I saw at Massey Hall.

[c-towns]

This show totally lived up to my expectations of a Crowes show. Started off up in the gallery and got the unspoken ok from the guys behind me that i will be standing for this and proceeded to enjoy what i thought was a short opening set, turns out I missed the first 4 songs due to beer wandering.

Made it down to the floor seats after what seemed to be the shortest set break I have ever experienced at a show. I went in not expecting to hear my current favourite BC tune I Ain't Hiding and then BAM! second song in and unbeleivably enjoyable. Although not very familiar with the tune, Oh Josephine really spoke to me, not to mention how dreamy Chris Robinson is but....then into the classic that brought me way back to grade 8, Hard to Handle followed up by Remedy with some serious soulful back-up singers, pure bliss.

Great show, great company, it's just to bad I waited until their farewell tour to finally catch one of the top bands of my generation.

See you at OZZY!

[deranger]

I thought the acoustic set was interesting but I really wasn't too pleased with the sound where I was - floor, right side of right centre. The song selection for the acoustic set was cool, but I'm a fan who has grown very very weary of hearing the same "hits" by the Crowes considering how much material they can draw from (yes I'm aware that part of having a 20 year career is playing the songs people recognize and love) but I really don't need to hear Jealous Again, Hard to Handle or She Talks to Angels. That said, I was glad they got those tunes out of the way during the acoustic set. The electric set was obviously the more familiar territory for the Crowes and I think it showed with the band quickly finding the groove (or perhaps because they had just played a set and we're already warmed up). Luther also seemed to finally let loose a bit during the electric set.

I was very disappointed that Rich was on the far side from me, last few shows Luther was on stage right and Rich on stage left. As such, I couldn't really hear anything at all Rich was playing though when I strained to hear through the rest of the band I could pick it out.

The show certainly had its moments but I never felt like the energy from the band picked up much beyond the novelty factor (for them) of the acoustic set. However, I was very impressed with the energy from the audience on the floor and was proud that so many fans chose to move around a bit and get active. Too often at Massey Hall shows or Toronto shows do we fall victim to the "hand-in-my-pockets" I'm too self-conscious vibe that this city is known for. It was really nice to see people dancing, moving and letting the band know they were loved and welcomed back.

I think Chris was on auto pilot when he left the stage after the encore and said something to the effect of "see you again soon". No Chris, if the hiatus is real, we won't be seeing you again for a long time under the Crowes banner. Perhaps under the solo act banner but that may have well been the last Crowes show Massey Hall will see for some time.

[Kanada Kev]

Well a couple of days have gone by and now i have a head cold. Fuck!

Had an absolutely great time at the show. Things slid together beautifully. Meeting up for pre-show bevvies with fellow Skanks, a co-worker and a couple of friends.

Wandered in to the show as they were starting the third song! Really wasn't expecting them to start at 7:30 (yes, i know the ticket said that, but figured 8-11 would be the show). That's OK. Easy in, our seats were waiting for us and the show was a blast.

The vibe in Massey (or at least on the floor) was highly energetic and sustained from start to finish. We were surrounded by non-offensive people and everyone got along.

Brought back a couple of beers to the seats mid-set. Everyone around us asked if we snuck them down and I said no. Next thing you know there are beers being enjoyed by everyone around us. No smoking though and I only saw a couple of phones pulled out to take a quick pic or vid. Nice to not have to look at all those glowing screens and now that the crowd was focussed more on the music than on their cell

I thought they chose a well-balanced setlist to really provide a little something for everyone. I really liked that extended Thorn In My Pride

Show was over at 1030, but there was no way we were going to make the 1043 train home. Hit a bar instead and bumped into some other friends. Enjoyed some more beers and missed the next train. Oh well, got home at 130am and was off to work in a haze a few hours later. Good times.

I did find that Luther and Rich really didn't seem to play together or off of one another as you would normally see in a lineup with to strong leads. Luther seemed almost disconnected. Not sure if was just me, but I thought he would have been a little more absorbed into the band as a whole while performing.

Sad to think they won't be coming around again for some time, or if at all.

[Kanada Kev]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/the-black-crowes-these-guys-are-good/article1776484/

The Black Crowes: These guys are good

BRAD WHEELER

The Black Crowes

At Massey Hall in Toronto on Wednesday

The seventies band from the nineties is saying goodnight in 2010. The Black Crowes, who are set to go on hiatus after their current tour, were a dying breed from the beginning – outspoken, arrogant, head-strong, riff-ready and radio-friendly Southerners, dismissed as Rolling Stones revivalists and red-dirt re-packagers of Humble Pie and The Faces.

As a warm, sprawling two-set adventure at Toronto’s Massey Hall well demonstrated, the brothers Chris and Rich Robinson have grown plenty from their roots. A full house heard cosmic country, Allmanesque boogie jams, whisky-drenched soul rock, southern harmony, semi-gospel, badass funk, tripping acid-folk, one surprising and delightful disco-shaker, and a few MTV-era hits too.

“Find me loose-lipped and laughing,†sang guitarist Rich on his vocal cameo during the opener Jealous Again, “singing songs, ain’t got no regrets.†And who could ask for anything more?

Hits: The Crowes tour as a long-haired six-piece, plus two soul-sista’ backup singers and one percussionist. And so an opening acoustic set wasn’t stripped-down or dainty. Jealous Again had a honky-tonk piano roll to it; Thorn in My Pride stretched out like a soft, psychedelic sunrise; She Talks to Angels was a sing-along. The main set was bolder, bigger and even more dynamic: Halfway to Everywhere juked, stomped and muscled its funk-rock all the way from Harlem to New Orleans; the emotional Ballad in Urgency began intensely poignant before extending to spacey southern-fried slide-guitar noodling. Oh Josephine, a rural ballad which spotlighted front man Chris Robinson’s still-potent, Georgia-drawled and Stax-scratched vocals, had Gram Parsons smiling.

Misses: Guitarists Rich Robinson and Luther Dickinson (also of the North Mississippi All-Stars) sat on opposite ends of the stage, rarely engaging with each other. The telepathy of Robinson and former Crowe lead guitarist Marc Ford was missed. On occasion, the instrumental jamming seemed premeditated. The extended outro to Oh Josephine added nothing to the soulful main part. Toward night-end, singer Robinson’s vocals began to fray, perhaps explaining why the encore was surprisingly cut short after just one song – a cover of Oh! Sweet Nuthin’ that dragged the Velvet Underground up into the Ozarks.

The Crowd: We had all types, among them rounders, stoners, second-balcony whistlers, late-arrivers, back-slapping howlers, beer-drinkers, middle-agers, downtown money-wasters, bottle blondes, beard-wearers, peace-sign wavers, proper men, easy-riders and well-wishers, but no hipsters, jocks or slumming school girls.

Overheard: “The use of cameras is prohibited.†Funny how a fan-friendly band that used to encourage the audio-taping of its shows now has extra security guards scouring the crowd for illicit cellphone picture-takers. Departing, the hirsute, bone-thin Chris Robinson bid adieu with “We’ll see you soon.†But will we? After all, these concerts are promoted under the banner Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys Tour.

In a Word: Remedy – a rock ’n’ remedy – offered by a band always in it for music, not the marketing.