Brothers like to fight. In the case of Chris and Rich Robinson, the rock world
is thankful theirs did not go on eternal. Reunited for the first time since 2001,
the Crowes returned to the venerable rock shrine, San Francisco’s Fillmore
Auditorium for a night of self dubbed “Freak N’ Roll.”
The brothers, along with former bandmates Eddie Harsch, Marc Ford, Sven Pipien
and Steve Gorman were one of the hottest tickets in 2005, and with upcoming shows
this summer, time will tell how long the glue will stick. I was fortunate enough
to catch their New Year’s Eve roof raising at New York’s Madison Square
Garden - a down home, foot stompin’ party – thicker than August air
in Mississippi, but without the mosquitoes.
THE DVD
The first-ever live DVD from the Crowes spews out 19 songs over two hours. It
begins with the classic banding walking out from backstage scene, as the cameras
follow the boys in one-shot from their dressing rooms to the raucous stage. From
the opening chorus of “(Only) Halfway to Everywhere,” with the line,
“Anywhere is everywhere and nowhere is nothing,” the scene has been
set.
The first set includes staples like “Soul Singing” and “Jealous
Again,” as well as some extended jams where the cameras cut to shots of
the band walking in the woods and doing other rock star-like things. Thankfully,
they also find time to get back to the stage shots, where Marc and Rich are layering
on floating medleys.
The second set starts acoustic with a two-guitar instrumental, “Sunday Night
Buttermilk Waltz,” followed by Chris coming out to sing “Cursed Diamond,”
and “She Talks to Angels.” The rest of the band appears for the remainder
of the show, giving out blistering versions of “Remedy” and “The
Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down,” as well as a somewhat subdued and
jammed out version of “Hard to Handle.” It is great to see the Crowes
expand their songs in the live setting, giving them more room to dance around
nuances and play with the sound.
A full, expanded band for this concert included a five-piece horn section and
two backup soul sister singers who filled the sound with the southern gospel overtones
the Crowes are so often associated with. This is an American rock n’ roll
band on display. No fancy gimmicks, just good ol’ down home sing along hand
in the air energy release.
SOUND AND VISUALS
You’d have to be a pretty incompetent sound engineer to make the Crowes
sound bad. The production quality on this release is crystal clear for both
audio and video. Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and DTS 5.1 Surround are both offered,
along with a 16:9 screen format. Watch this one on a nice system, it’s
always fun to turn the volume up a bit.
PACKAGING AND LAYOUT
The best aspect of the packaging are the liner notes by Dennis Cook of jambase.com,
who so articulately illustrates the band’s importance and puts things
into perspective for people who may not be familiar with their work. The cover
shot of them on the Golden Gate Bridge would fit just as easily on a vinyl release
from 1972, as it would a DVD case from 2006.
SPECIAL FEATURES
This is pretty much a straight-up live concert release, with 19 songs spanning
over 150 minutes of music. There is a small bonus documentary section, but let’s
face it, if you’re going to buy this one, it’s because you missed
seeing them live and need to see what all the hype is about, or you want to
relive your live experience.
MELLOW DOWN EASY
As Dennis Cook so appropriately states in the liner notes, “This is a
thoroughbred American rock n’ freakin’ roll band.” I wouldn’t
have it any other way. With everyone out there today looking for the next “new”
thing, it is unbelievably refreshing to see the Crowes out on the road, in effect
bringing things back to where they used to be. Unquestionably one of the best
touring rock bands out there today, any fan of the band would want to have this
documentation of the second coming of the Black Crowes as part of their collection.
DVD Movie Score: A
DVD Sounds and Visuals Score: A
DVD Packaging and Layout Score: B+
DVD Extras Score: B DVD Overall Score: A-
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