Concert review and photos: The Black Crowes’ Chris and Rich Robinson power through intimate Atlanta show
With a twist of his left wrist and an escalation of his voice, Chris Robinson dove into the opening lines of “Jealous Again” with the intensity of the hungry young man who first sang it on record in 1990.
Brother Rich stood a few feet away, busting a bluesy groove on an acoustic guitar, as all of the gritty idiosyncrasies in Chris’ voice spilled over the notes.
There might be some skepticism about the return of The Black Crowes this summer as the famously warring siblings reunite with a new backing cast for a tour to acknowledge the 30th anniversary of "Shake Your Moneymaker." (They'll perform at Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood on June 27.)
But at a sold-out Terminal West on Sunday night, the pair, billed as they were in 2007 as Brothers of a Feather, immediately quelled any doubts about their level of musical zeal.
While Chris has lived in California for decades and Rich now resides in Nashville, Atlanta is the birthplace of The Black Crowes and, as Chris reminded early in the 80-minute show, the brothers themselves.
“It’s nice to be back in the city where (we) were born,” Chris said.
Unfortunately for the hometown crowd, Rich wasn’t feeling well (insert “Hotel Illness” joke here) and therefore unable to join Chris for any vocalizing; the most noticeable casualty was the absence of “Remedy,” which the guys have been performing on these acoustic dates. But Rich powered through with snappy slide guitar during “Twice As Hard” and sinewy playing on “Thorn in My Pride.”
Throughout the set, the Brothers Robinson exchanged smiles and glances, attuned again to each other’s onstage rhythms.
The setlist tapped into most of The Black Crowes’ eight-album discography, with a trio of songs pulled from 1994’s “Amorica,” including “Descending” and “Cursed Diamond.”
“I have a different perspective on some of these songs than when we created them,” Chris said before another “Amorica” track, “Wiser Time.” “We weren’t very wise when we wrote it.”
Even with the vocal absence of Rich, Chris captivated with his own distinctive emoting. His eyes scrunched shut and his fists clenched and shaking, Chris unleashed lyrics with convincing fervency and often paired Rich’s stout playing with his own swampy harmonica.
While the brothers have experienced a few boisterous audiences (looking at you, Philly), Chris thanked the Atlanta fans for being respectful about listening to the music. Naturally, a few yappers had to break the reverie of an acoustic show, but for Atlanta, it was almost commendable behavior.
During 2001’s “Soul Singing,” a rock hit from the “Lions” album, many in the crowd joined in to sing the chorus, a worthy primer to the set closer – prior to an encore of Little Feat’s “Willin’” – of “She Talks to Angels.” Chris’ emotion-fueled vocals were complemented perfectly by Rich’s melancholy chords - another reminder of the potency that awaits this summer.
About the Author
Melissa Ruggieri has covered music and entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2010 and created the Atlanta Music Scene blog. She's kept vampire hours for more than two decades and remembers when MTV was awesome.
