In a single set at Vermont’s Higher Ground, The Black Crowes spent just over two hours challenging themselves and their (close to) sold-out audience. The crowd’s hearty response throughout the night was equal to the bravery on display from the band.
The courage might’ve seemed foolish if the attendees had been less than fully engaged with a set list consisting of closely two-thirds brand new material. To the odd exclusion of anything except "Walk Believer Walk," from last year’s splendid studio work, Warpaint, The Black Crowes peppered selections from their just issued double release, Before the Frost…Until the Freeze with just enough familiar tunes like "My Morning Song" to placate the fans and maintain the dynamics of the music. Doffing his big sombrero early in the set, lead vocalist Chris Robinson allayed the fears of anyone apprehensive about the acoustic guitars as used so prominently on "Roll On Jeremiah" and most of the first half hour.
Not that anyone should’ve been put off. As Luther Dickinson picked carefully and tunefully away on his mandolin, the sextet slipped into a purposeful jam, that, combined with repeated segues from one tune to another throughout the night, only strengthened the impression The Black Crowes circa 2009 are increasingly comfortable in that rarified air of great improvisationalists. Keyboardist Adam MacDougall’s patience in building his solo on "Wiser Time" allowed everyone present to feel the crisp texture of electric piano. Sven Pipien’s grins throughout the night were as numerous as the wiry runs he pulled from his array of basses (including a Rickenbacker that usually doesn’t resound so deeply), while his rhythm section partner, drummer Steve Gorman, was in perpetual motion.
Meanwhile, The North Mississippi Allstars’ Dickinson is clearly having great influence on his comrade-in-guitars Rich Robinson. The fluency and intelligence of the latter’s solos, especially as he lead the group through extended instrumentals such as the one proceeding, appropriately enough, from "And The Band Played On," was testament to his growth as a musician and his comfort level as a non-founding member of this group.
If, in their return to this South Burlington venue, The Black Crowes didn’t throw the knockout punches as in the fall of 2008, their performance nevertheless concluded with purposeful finality as they intoned " Oh Sweet Nuthin" with stirring gospel fervor. It was yet another gesture of kinship with the music-lovers populating the ballroom floor, further evidence of a very rare bond arising from an audience being as enthusiastic as the band playing for them.
Setlist
Roll Old Jeremiah -> Jam
So Many Times
Shine Along
Garden Gate
Driving Wheel
Wiser Time
And The Band Played On -> Jam
My Morning Song
Walk Believer Walk
A Train Still Makes A Lonely Sound
Shady Grove
Wounded Bird
Been A Long Time (Waiting On Love)
– encore –
Title Song
Oh! Sweet Nuthin’
