The Black Crowes Shake Their Money Maker As They Bring Their Long Anticipated Happiness Bastards Tour To A Heaving Eventim Apollo!!

The Black Crowes Shake Their Money Maker As They Bring Their Long Anticipated Happiness Bastards Tour To A Heaving Eventim Apollo!!

The Black Crowes tore up the stage as they delivered a blistering performance to a packed audience of die-hard fans! The stage alone could only be described as absolutely stunning, dressed in a slightly chaotic wall of guitar amps and risers for the drums, keyboards & backing vocalists, adorned with state fair style drapes, an oversized dressing room mirror and cut out image of Chuck Berry. All of which suggests their influences, their southern style and desire to make each show a spectacle. Indeed the display of apparently unused & unnecessary guitar amplifiers, particularly those aligned behind Rich Robinson seemed to present a timeline and to suggest the evolution of the band, it’s sound and distinctive blend of musical styles.

With support from the Jim Jones All Stars who delivered an explosive performance from the very first note!! Jim Jones means what he says, he’s clearly in it for life. Their trade mark delivery of high octane, down ‘n’ dirty, big band boogaloo is the perfect warm up for an expectant Black Crowes crowd. Different enough to be interesting, but with references a plenty to the Killer (JLL), Bo Diddly, the Stooges and the New York Dolls this was always going to be a good fit, and the All Stars were taking full advantage of the opportunity. Their set was a heady brew of sweaty grooves and rasping choruses as Jones implored us all to get down and get with it. The JJ All Stars are going from strength to strength and are building some strong momentum, at the perfect time with new album ‘Ain’t No Evil’ hitting the streets right now!

The first time that I saw the Black Crowes live was at London’s Astoria Theatre in 1990, supporting and in most peoples opinion blowing away the Dogs D’Amour. On that night the Crowes were promoting their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, and immediately set out their stall striding confidently onto the stage and declaring “Let’s get down to fuckin’ business” before roaring straight into a blistering version of the up tempo rocker ‘Thick & Thin’. I was hooked. We all were!

On the evidence of last Wednesdays appearance at the Apollo (nee Odeon) in Hammersmith, the passion and authenticity that was evident at that show in 1990, and which we have always associated with the Robinson brothers and their band of Crowes, is very much alive and kicking, rekindled by their new found togetherness and unique brand of southern harmony.

The evident glee and excitement generated by the brothers having settled their well documented differences and having found a new creative path together was clearly shared by the band and audience, as one. There was a genuine and palpable sense of euphoria within the venue as the Crowes took to the stage and opened with strong new material, ‘Bedside Manners’ followed by ‘Rats & Clowns’, taken from the excellent new long player, ‘Happiness Bastards’. Parallels with and a return to the more direct and no nonsense approach of earlier releases and that night at the Astoria in 1990 were clear to see and served to reaffirm the Black Crowes position as the definitive blues rockers, who both acknowledge their reference points (i.e. Stones, Faces, Humble Pie, Free….) and display their own refined writing abilities and style.

Whilst there has clearly been some turnover and rotation within the ranks of the Black Crowes throughout their 40 year history, with original and long standing players, namely drummer Steve Gorham, no longer part of the band, the retention and inclusion of familiar bass player Sven Pipien adds some welcome continuity to the line up, in addition to the Robinson brothers themselves. However, the new members showed themselves to be more than worthy of their place with second guitarist Nico Bereciatia drawing particular praise for his tasteful playing and ability to fit alongside that of Rich Robinson.

The carefully thought out set list, did not disappoint! The inclusion of new material by such an established band can often feel like an obligation to promote a new album and can distract from stronger and more familiar songs. But the strength and vibrancy of the new material taken from ‘Happiness Bastards’ justified it’s inclusion within the set list and offered a welcome return to the more direct material of ‘Shake Your Money Maker’, ‘Southern Harmony’ and ‘By Your Side’. Equally, Lou Reed’s ‘New York rocker White Light / White Heat’ and Chuck Berry’s ‘Carol’, played in the encore were widely welcomed, perhaps as tongue in cheek nods towards some of the bands heroes. Although, their inclusion presumably knocks other Crowes tunes out, they added a uniqueness and energy to the show.  Having said this the Crowes are known to change and rotate set lists between shows, and to this end the inclusion of the album track ‘Go Faster’ was a surprise.

Never a band to leave their fans hanging, the Crowes completed their set with an encore that can only be described as unforgettable!! As after a short and snappy version of Chuck Berry’s ‘Carol’, in deference to the true king of rock n roll, they launched into a raucous version of Aerosmith’s ‘Mamma Kin’, featuring none other than Aerosmith legend Mr Steven Tyler, who seemed playfully surprised and a little hesitant to join in until centre stage and in familiar territory. Sharing vocals, Robinson and Tyler bounced and bumped their way through the song to the joy of the crowd overlooked from the edge of the stage by Led Zeppelin Icon Jimmy Page!! Although apparently spontaneous and unrehearsed, ‘Mamma Kin’ was a fitting crescendo and finale to a great evening with both brothers, Tyler and other members of the band laughing and hugging in mutual admiration. Their enjoyment of the occasion was infectious.

The Black Crowes are truly alive and kicking, reunited and re-energized for another 12 rounds in the world of heavy weight rockers. They are indeed contenders once again. May their collective rejuvenation contour. Their brand of well crafted, soulful blues rock is a tonic. We all need a shot of rock n roll, once in a while don’t we!?

Review by Gary Cleaver
Photos by Louise Phillips

Photos of The Black Crowes

Photos of Jim Jones All Stars