THE BLACK CROWES played their first reunion show last night (Monday, November 11) at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. The concert took place just hours after brothers Chris and Rich Robinson announced a 46-date 2020 tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of THE BLACK CROWES ' classic debut album, 1990's "Shake Your Money Maker" .
Joining Chris and Rich in the new BLACK CROWES lineup are EARTHLESS guitarist Isaiah Mitchell , former TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND bassist Tim Lefebvre along with ONCE AND FUTURE BAND members Joel Robinow on keyboards and Raj Ojha on drums.
The 60-minute Bowery Ballroom concert in front of a 600-strong crowd saw THE BLACK CROWES perform only the songs from the band's debut, along with the encore cover version of THE ROLLING STONES ' "It's Only Rock 'N Roll (But I Like It)" .
The setlist was as follows:
01. Twice As Hard
02. Jealous Again
03. Sister Luck
04. Could I've Been So Blind
05. Seeing Things
06. Hard To Handle
07. Thick N' Thin
08. She Talks To Angels
09. Struttin' Blues
10. Stare It Cold
11. It's Only Rock 'N Roll (But I Like It)
Regarding the decision to enlist all-new members for THE BLACK CROWES ' reunion, Chris told Rolling Stone : "That was the first thing Rich and I agreed on. We don't want anyone from the solo groups. We don't want anyone from the past." Rich added: "In order to make this work. To give Chris and I the space to…" Chris interjected: "Be here right now."
THE BLACK CROWES ' upcoming tour will mark Chris and Rich 's first shows together since 2013. The group will perform its multi-platinum 1990 debut album in its entirety, along with a smattering of other hits and favorites.
THE BLACK CROWES will take the stage on Thursday (November 14) at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. The official tour kicks off properly on June 17 at Austin's Austin360 Amphitheater in Austin wraps on September 19 at the Forum in L.A.
Chris told Rolling Stone the new tour will hearken back to THE BLACK CROWES ' original style, explaining: "I think this is pure. We went off into a lot of things. There's no jamming. There's no extraneous stuff. This is the purest BLACK CROWES that people first [heard]. I hope we reconnect with some people who lost their way with us because of all of our other shit we were doing."
Rich spoke frankly about the obvious family politics in reuniting with his older brother, saying "No one is here to be a dick. We love this music. We're musicians. We're brothers. We love each other. We love this opportunity. Changing the context with Chris and I and all new people is a much healthier place for us."
