Rolling into town in style, The Black Crowes were finally back at it. Rocking out MTelus for one night only on their Happiness Bastards Tour. Montreal was fully ready after more than ten years of on-again, off-again tours, never leading them here.
With a tumultuous rock and roll lifestyle and many feuds and breakups since their inception in 1984, it was unsure if we’d ever see them live again. This restructured version of the band includes the Robinson brothers, who finally decided to end a long-standing feud and give us some new material that we’d all been waiting for impatiently.
All the drama aside now, I honestly never thought I’d be seeing them in a small venue. Mtelus was already completely packed, and most likely oversold by the time I got in. Already steamy from the opening band’s set, Toronto’s Wine Lips. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up catching any of it as getting in took more than a few minutes. STM is most unreliable, especially if you have anywhere to be.
The atmosphere created by their immense stage setup was impressive. With many levels of risers for the drummer, backup singers, and keys. Resembling a hidden balcony in the backstreets of New Orleans, with a wall of vintage amps and cab setup, a dressing room mirror center stage. String lights cascaded down around the band, with a Happiness Bastards banner almost too big for that small stage setup.
From the very first note, I knew this was going to be a special show. Starting things off strong with some new tracks from the latest album. The sound tonight all around was impeccable, kudos to their sound guy. They sure had a stadium output that didn’t get too lost in the reverb of the venue. And things got even louder when they began to play “Twice as Hard.”
They looked like they were having an absolute blast again. Chris danced and twirled the mic around in Mick Jagger-inspired fashion as his brother Rich delighted with his solos. Leading us on a musical journey, with a nice bluesy country block of songs like “By My Side” and “Sister Luck.” They also snuck another new track in for our listening pleasure “Cross Your Fingers.”
Dancing up a storm, they brought the house down with a cover of Jerry Lee Lewis’s High School Confidential. Later, they got us all tongue-tied by singing along to Hard To Handle by Otis Reading.
The most memorable song that we all wanted to hear live, “She Talks To Angels,” was surprisingly not part of the encore this evening. One of my favourite moments that gave me goosebumps, was the raw breakdown in “Thorn in My Pride.” I was fortunate to witness Prince live at the Bell Centre once, and the soundscape wasn’t far off. You can see that they take pride in the timing and vocal arrangements, and it pays off after all these years.
Saving the fun songs for last like “Sting Me,” we were stung hard by the realization that the night was almost done. Getting us “Jealous Again” as they brought us the final “Remedy” to finish off the show. Not before we shook off the little bit of energy left in our systems to one final cover of “Shake Your Moneymaker” by Elmore James. What an exhilarating night of rock & roll. Hopefully, it was enough fanfare to keep these brothers from feuding so that we get to see them sooner rather than later.
Setlist
- Bedside Manners
- Rats and Clowns
- Twice as Hard
- Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution
- By Your Side
- Cross Your Fingers
- Sister Luck
- High School Confidential (Jerry Lee Lewis cover) (Live debut)
- Thorn in My Pride
- Wanting and Waiting
- Hard to Handle (Otis Redding cover)
- She Talks to Angels
- Flesh Wound
- Sting Me
- Jealous Again
- Remedy
Encore:
- Shake Your Moneymaker (Elmore James cover)
Review – Sam Morris
Photos – Kieron Yates
