“Word has it that you will be able to move around,” the usher said. The sentence that entered my ears sounded a bit foreign. Who gave the word? Word…
My question to the aforementioned usher was whether or not there would be dancing allowed at the Black Crowe’s gig at the WIN Centre in Wollongong. This was positive, if not a strange way to tell me that we could.
Usually at the large venues they don’t like people to get up and groove to the music. From now on, I plan on asking before I sit down, so I know what I am in for. On this evening the promoters had moved the stage forward and my ninth row seats had been changed, but I did notice a fairly sizeable space in front of the stage. Lo and behold, as the gig kicked off, I found myself dancing directly in front of Luther Dickinson, with my beer resting on the stage.
This was probably the smallest crowd that this band has played to in many years. It was just unbelievable that a band that can sell over 20 million records worldwide could possibly only draw 500 people for a night of blues, soul and damn fine rock and roll.
Chris Robinson looked and sounded (when he spoke at least) that he had been enjoying some beverages and danced and sang barefoot through the night. There seemed to be no negative effect on his singing, but he did let the band get down and jam tonight. Comparing this gig to the one in Sydney, as my darling said, was like comparing oranges and apples. But let us compare away anyway.
Tonight we had the jamming Crowes. The boys on guitars, Luther Dickinson (from the North Mississippi Allstars) and Rich Robinson made it clear they were up to the guitar hero title. Maybe it was just so Chris could have a good dance and enjoy his groove. Whatever the reason, it was definitely a change from earlier in the week at the Hordern, and they were ready to thrash those instruments. Kicking off with Wounded Bird from Warpaint and then jamming directly into Black Moon Creeping showcased Luther’s licks. Quite a few of the riffs took me back to some of the southern rock jam gigs I had witnessed in the ‘70s. The Crowes were alight and in-flight.
The bare-footed Chris was smiling and swaying while the small crowd hovered and danced around the stage. Extended jams continued through Soul Singing, Thorn In My Pride and Wiser Time, and they were all just gorgeous to hear and to watch. As a matter of fact, with Luther being new to the band, many of the boys in the audience were left with their mouths agape. I watched as many of them pointed and hit their mates on the shoulder and told them to watch this guy. Especially when he dipped into playing the slide, it was fun to be there.
Smiles were found on all of the band member’s faces as the night wore on for the almost two hours of music we were treated to. We were a lucky bunch of fans that caught them playing such an intimate gig. Jealous Again ended the set and then they launched into a two song encore which closed with Twice As Hard.
A phenomenal night of guitar was on display this evening, nothing short of one of the best rock and roll gigs I had heard in a while from my vantage point. The choice to catch them twice in a week was well rewarded, with a different vibe and of course a very varied set-list. If you missed this evening, I think many people will talk about it for years to come as a special night in a not-so-special venue with a few friends.
