The Fortitude Valley's Brunswick Street Mall is alive and kicking (16 November) as eager beavers queue for The Black Crowes (TBC) sold-out Brisbane show at The Fortitude Music Hall.
I have dreamed of the day that brothers Chris and Rich Robinson would tour with the band, rocking TBC songs on a stage near me. Not to mention that tonight, TBC will be playing us their debut album 'Shake Your Money Maker' IN FULL!I have literally ached for this experience since it first invaded my ears in the early '90s! It goes to show that sh.t does get real, even if it is 30-plus years later.
First up is the Full Moon Flower Band and I reckon the choice is a cracking one. I've seen this five-piece live twice before and they deliver the goods every time.
Kate Dillon (vocals, guitar) fronts the band. She is real and raw onstage, and has as the backing of a cranking guitarist and energetic drummer.
Full Moon Flower Band - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Full Moon Flower Band get a warm welcome as they start. 'Roadie' is one on the list that captures the attention of new fans in the crowd with its steady beats and a gutsy groove that has you grinding away.
While near the end of their set we get a blasted with the crushing swagger of 'New Rocket'. It's gritty and dirty, and has me feeling I'm in a 'From Dusk Til Dawn' scene at Tarantino's Titty Twister bar. I'm loving the sexy, bluesy groove.
Full Moon Flower Band give us a good dose of chill dirty blues and some heavier sludgy sounds where their bass player shined. Dillon is telling us their set tonight has included songs from their new album or tunes only available online, including their banger 'NY - LA'.
This unpretentious, raw, edgy and oh so dirty set got us well and truly heated up for the main dish of American blues and southern stylised rock.
Brian Griffin (drums), Isaiah Mitchell (guitar) and Sven Pipien (bass) file on to the stage behind the two glamorous backup singers. I cannot tell if it is Joel Robinow/Erik Deutsch who has joined up the back on keys.
In less than a minute, the silhouettes of the brothers appear. Chris is decked out in a black shirt and suave suit with a metallic sheen and trippy swirl pattern. Rich, also in a black shirt, is sporting an Aztec-ish patterned jacket which kind of matches one of his guitar straps and classic black jeans – true rock garb!
The Black Crowes - image © Clea-marie Thorne
No time is wasted opening with 'Twice As Hard'; it receives a rambunctious cheer from the lively and expectant crowd as Chris keeps his back to the crowd in partial shadow, while the guitar intro is played until the point the guitars and drums charge in and so does he.
Chris spins around, grabs the mic stand and rushes to the front of the stage where he fist pumps the stand high in the air. He then steps back and sets it down, only to march on the spot, clap and do a twirl before picking it back up and rushing to the crowd to start singing the song.
TBC are all over it from the get-go. Chris is in a state of constant movement at middle of the stage, coming forward, moving backward, swinging and twirling his mic stand, while singing to us.
Many punters are singing along to all the words, not just the chorus. This set is going to be something else if this is the level of crowd interaction for song one.
The Black Crowes - image © Clea-marie Thorne
'Jealous Again' is next up for us. Most if not all mouths are singing along to this one, but we can still hear the keys keeping bright notes underneath. This is just next level – I'm in the TBC fan choir! Between verses I hear excitable fans exclaiming joy with a "yip-yow", "whoo hoo" and "hell yeah".
Man, those mic-stand twirls must be the nightly workout for Chris – no gym stops required on this tour.
The gorgeous yet melancholic tones of the guitar on the intro to 'Sister Luck' now has me in a heady spin. This cranks with a rocking blues soul and the crowd are swaying and tapping in place to its slow and heavy beats. The back-up singers are enhancing the depth of feel of the song and Mitchell smashes the guitar parts with fluid skill.
'Could Have Been So Blind' features Griffin having a smashing time on the tubs as Mitchell and Rich give it a real, classic-rock vibe. In following the album tracks, this was of course followed by 'Seeing Things'.
The strong and soulful vocals of Chris Robinson are sublime, those notes are reaching down into the bottom of my heart and pulling it in every direction. As the song builds, I feel like The Fortitude Music Hall is my place of music worship and Chris Robinson the Revelator, reaching a fever pitch, as he is deliciously preaching the narratives of TBC songs. Amen to that.
The Black Crowes - image © Clea-marie Thorne
We then hear: "Every night we get to play this song, we give thanks and praise to man they call The Big O. Ya'll know this song and the muthaf...er goes like this!" The instruments crank for the best ever cover of Otis Redding's posthumous release 'Hard To Handle' – and brothers Robinson along with Pipien and Mitchell bring this southern rock banger slamming and jamming to us.
Punters are deafening as they sing-along, Especially giving more oomph to the chorus line: 'Hey little thing let me light your candle, cos mama I'm sure hard to handle now, yessiram.' Collectively, the fan choir almost eclipses the decibels of the venue's sound system.
'Thick n' Thin' is played next ahead of a few warm tears spilling onto my cheeks. Chris sets his lowest pitch to the lyrics of 'She Talks To Angels' and Rich goes electric acoustic with a gorgeous guitar with a heart-shaped sound hole with a thick rosette. I cannot work out the make but she sure is pretty.
Just when I thought I was spent, I find myself giving thanks for the energising beats and tempo shift of 'Struttin' Blues', which has me throwing my head back and arms out while getting a bit of boogie on loving those lead breaks. What a classic banger!
'Stare It Cold' is lucky last from the album (no live hidden track?). We are getting the album delights delivered in order and this track keeps things pumping. The band are having a great time performing this cracker for us and we reciprocate our joy by busting out in dance to this.
Now for our Easter Eggs: 'My Morning Song' from 'The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion' album is our first treat. About halfway through I am feeling uplifted. It really does give off some rocking gospel feels after some amazing riffage.
Chris may or may not be speaking about the fact he should be able to hook up in Australia – but says: "Anyway, maybe this song will grease the wheels a little bit," and we hear the first guitar notes and hits on the drums to the start of 'High Head Blues'.
The Black Crowes - image © Clea-marie Thorne
A classic and favourite among the punters is 'Wiser Time' and the band now bring it slow and steady. I find we can breathe for a moment as we are absorbing the dynamic talent before us without being in whipped into a boogie frenzy.
'Thorn In My Pride' gets a rowdy welcome as the crowd ups the ante on audience participation. Not to be outdone by the crowd, Rich and Mitchell give us a double hammering of guitar and they make the strings sing so high and the keys are imbued with the sound of an organ. So superb – such a '70s mood.
Our revelator asks the congregation of TBC fans, in a rich southern accent, "are ya feeling alright? I say, do you feel good? This is the 'Remedy'!" This is another from 'The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion' record and it continues to sustain the peaking vibe in the room.
The kinetic energy that is being created by TBC fans here in the room is perpetuated by the vibrations from the music being played onstage. These energies combined are pulsating through our bodies in waves.
As they leave the stage to great cheers of appreciation and screams to stay, I can honestly say they have left me feeling giddy and high.
The Black Crowes are of course returning to the stage after listening to our pleas for more and hearing the thunder from the footstomping of fans on the mezzanine above me.
I wonder what they have concocted as our dessert dish. Yeah! It is their cover of Rolling Stones' 'Rocks Off' and did it what?! A perfect choice of close out for Brisbane punters – and this lass. I am stoked.
The Black Crowes - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The instrumentation of this iteration of the band sounded exceptional live and it was pure joy to have it permeate my being, leaving me with a blissful memory in its wake.
As a frontman, Chris remains totally engaging and still has a high-rizz factor going on and it's not due to the mic-stand twirls or deadlifts. It may be a little of the Jagger-esque moves (if it ever was) – but it is definitely the voice (and always was). A voice born for soulful rock & blues and affecting blues croon.
Rich on the other hand – cool, calm and collected the entire set as is his way; except for a few animated bursts when singing or delivering those flawless solos or duo jams. Such a gifted musician with super-cool poise. I swear Rich travels with a different guitar for nearly every song on the set! What an axe collection. Glad I am not his roadie, though.
Man. What a trip. Intoxicating. While you can order a ticket online, you can't order this kind of memory online – it needs to be experienced in person.
More photos from the show.
