Patti Smith / The Black Crowes @United Palace, Oct. 31st

Last night for Halloween went up to Washington Heights to catch Patti Smith and the Black Crowes. This was my second schlep up to the funky venue up north -- last time was for Arcade Fire back in May.

I always look forward to seeing Patti. This time she was an opener, so she did not play a long marathon set, like when I caught her at the final night at CBGB. Instead, she and bandmates played a nice set with some cuts off her recent release, Twelve, including a growly cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and closing with her seminal hit, "Gloria." Here's her song, "Beneath the Southern Cross":

The Black Crowes are a band I have always enjoyed seeing live. I may not own their records, nor do I know more than their biggest hits, but every time I have seen them, I have appreciated their amazing energy and ability to get a crowd on its feet, as well as their constantly shifting setlists. Perhaps the Crowes are the closest to a jam band I'll ever get -- I will always be game for their brand of rock 'n roll.

Chris & Rich Robinson @Town Hall, Apr. 15th

Tonight met up with Wawa again for the Robinson Brothers' last of a three night stand in New York for their acoustic tour. I don't have much to say different from my review of their gig the night before. I was sleepier for this one -- drinking pitchers of sangria with my kung fu classmates was probably not the best idea, but the day was gorgeous, so we had to celebrate it somehow...

The Crowes again played a great set of songs, including a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Wreck on the Highway." I think I only heard maybe only 3 or 4 of the same songs from the night before, including their first original hit "She Talks to Angels" which I don't care how trite it is -- it's gorgeous. At one point, a dog ran across the stage!

An interesting moment -- some idiot yelled for them to play "Freebird" by Lynryd Skynyrd. I never understand why that continues to be a funny joke, no matter who we're seeing. Wawa and I caught Ben Folds (at the same venue, coincidentally) and he actually tried playing a few bars with improvised lyrics. But I would think the Crowes' fans would be particularly sensitive to the Crowes often being described as being derivative of big 70s southern rock bands like Skynyrd. Chris Robinson actually voiced his annoyance but in a completely smooth way. He said something to the effect of "If you actually expect to hear that song, you're at the wrong fucking concert!" Amen!

Wawa was in his element tonight. While I was more than happy to be sitting, I was a little sad that I couldn't see Wawa rock out completely, jumping around like the nut he can be. But he did his best while sitting. And after the show, as we passed the sound board, I saw the sound guy looking over the setlist. I said, "hey, can I have that?" and he handed it over to me no problem. Wawa had already headed out, so when I met up with him on the sidewalk, I handed him the setlist. I mean, what am I gonna do with a list of Black Crowes songs that I don't even know? He was psyched -- I think he's gonna frame his two setlists. Hehehehe....

Chris & Rich Robinson @The Rose Theater, Apr. 14th

Chris and Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes announced a few months ago that they would be doing an acoustic tour and they decided to kick off the tour with three consecutive dates in New York City. Wawa went to the first night at Warsaw in Greenpoint and raved about how amazing it was. We already had a pair to the third night at Town Hall in midtown, and he had a single to the second night. On a whim, I checked the Lincoln Center website, and to our amazement, a sweet pair 11th row center was available. So just after midnight on Friday, I suddenly found myself with plans for that evening.

I would not call myself a fan of the Black Crowes. In fact, I can't say that I've ever bought any of their albums -- not even their greatest hits compilation. I do recognize, however, that they have an amazing catalogue of songs and play good, solid rock with excellent 70s influence. Chris Robinson has a wonderful voice and is a charismatic leader. His brother Rich sings well, too, but his talent lies in guitar playing. And Wawa, who follows them to a certain degree, tells me that they change up their setlists for every show, which seems like a rarity nowadays.

Last year, I also caught the Crowes as a full band at Hammerstein. It was a night of great music as well. Being at Hammerstein, however, it presented a very different atmosphere than the Rose Theater. The Hammerstein was general admission standing, and the crowd was full of beer and the air full of pot smoke. The Rose Theater, which is part of Lincoln Center at the newish Time Warner Center, is a beautiful venue, with excellent acoustics, and it seemed intimate and civilized. No weed or booze action there. We were assisted by no less than 3 ushers.

Luckily, our seats were right in front of the sound board, which meant that our positioning for the sound was probably optimal. Since we got there early, Wawa was also able to ask the sound guy for his setlist before the show even started. I think he was pretty psyched for that alone.

The concert was marvelous. The brothers played about 20 songs, joined for about 2/3s by their bassist, Sven. They even played a song by Devendra Banhart. Seeing them opened my eyes -- I didn't realize that Chris played the guitar (and pretty well) and that Rich could sing lead every once in a while. I didn't know most of the songs, but that's why I will go see the Crowes even without being a fan. Their songs are beautiful and rich-sounding, and Chris puts great emotion into his singing. His voice was a little shot on the high soft notes, but otherwise, he really reached the audience, despite sitting in a chair the entire evening. He also provided some funny but not overbearing banter.

It was a great concert to go to, again, thanks to my ticket karma. I now look forward to seeing them on Saturday as well.