The Black Crowes at the 9:30 Club -- 10/24/2008, Washington, D.C.
We worked our way into the 9:30 Club just as the Black Crowes were taking the stage for their second of three nights at the venue. I’ve been a fan of this band for a long time now, and I loved their latest album, Warpaint, so I was looking forward to this show quite a bit. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the audience seemed to be looking forward to chatting with their friends more than they were looking forward to the show, and there were points where all the talking almost drowned out the music, which is quite an accomplishment at a rock show.
Make no mistake; the Crowes delivered a solid performance. These guys are great musicians individually and a great band collectively, but all they got in return for their craft was Talk, Talk, Drink, Talk, “Woo! Song’s finished!”, Talk, Talk, Drink, Text, Talk, and so on and so on all night. It was frustrating for those of us who wanted to hear the music, and I imagine it had to be frustrating for the band, too.
Granted, they barely played anything from their first three (also their highest selling) albums, and there might have been more slow songs than they should have gone for on a Friday night at a club where most of the audience has to stand up all night, but they put a lot of energy into the show, and they sounded phenomenal. To the extent possible with six musicians plus instruments crammed onto a club-sized stage, they even tried to put on a lively physical show, like when Steve Gorman came out from behind his drum kit, strapped on a bass drum, and started pounding them through “God’s Got It.” Personally, I don’t believe in God, but I do believe in Rock ’n’ Roll, and I was ready for a “Hallelujah!” after watching them stomp their way through that song. That lead into a heartfelt rendition of “Oh Josephine,” my favorite song off the new album, and at that point, I think they almost, ALMOST had the crowd with them, but not quite. And really, they never did.
After a 15 song set, the crowd apparently decided that they hadn’t had enough time to finish their conversations and therefore cheered the band back onstage for an encore. The Crowes came out, delivered a house-rockin’ version of Elmore James’s “Shake Your Money Maker,” and called it a night. I would have preferred to hear them play a song from the album Shake Your Money Maker rather than to hear them play “Shake Your Money Maker” itself, but even so, I’ll never feel slighted by a band offering up an excellent version of a blues classic. Often, when a band plays a single-song, hit-free encore, it’s the equivalent of leaving a penny tip at a restaurant, a way to say “You sucked.” Maybe that was their intent with that encore, and maybe it wasn’t. I’ll never know. For the moment, though, I’ll take comfort in the fact that they at least left us a very shiny penny, and hopefully, the next time I see them, I’ll be part of a $2 audience.
Make no mistake; the Crowes delivered a solid performance. These guys are great musicians individually and a great band collectively, but all they got in return for their craft was Talk, Talk, Drink, Talk, “Woo! Song’s finished!”, Talk, Talk, Drink, Text, Talk, and so on and so on all night. It was frustrating for those of us who wanted to hear the music, and I imagine it had to be frustrating for the band, too.
Granted, they barely played anything from their first three (also their highest selling) albums, and there might have been more slow songs than they should have gone for on a Friday night at a club where most of the audience has to stand up all night, but they put a lot of energy into the show, and they sounded phenomenal. To the extent possible with six musicians plus instruments crammed onto a club-sized stage, they even tried to put on a lively physical show, like when Steve Gorman came out from behind his drum kit, strapped on a bass drum, and started pounding them through “God’s Got It.” Personally, I don’t believe in God, but I do believe in Rock ’n’ Roll, and I was ready for a “Hallelujah!” after watching them stomp their way through that song. That lead into a heartfelt rendition of “Oh Josephine,” my favorite song off the new album, and at that point, I think they almost, ALMOST had the crowd with them, but not quite. And really, they never did.
After a 15 song set, the crowd apparently decided that they hadn’t had enough time to finish their conversations and therefore cheered the band back onstage for an encore. The Crowes came out, delivered a house-rockin’ version of Elmore James’s “Shake Your Money Maker,” and called it a night. I would have preferred to hear them play a song from the album Shake Your Money Maker rather than to hear them play “Shake Your Money Maker” itself, but even so, I’ll never feel slighted by a band offering up an excellent version of a blues classic. Often, when a band plays a single-song, hit-free encore, it’s the equivalent of leaving a penny tip at a restaurant, a way to say “You sucked.” Maybe that was their intent with that encore, and maybe it wasn’t. I’ll never know. For the moment, though, I’ll take comfort in the fact that they at least left us a very shiny penny, and hopefully, the next time I see them, I’ll be part of a $2 audience.
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