-joy•blog: Crowes in Charlotte

yes, i scored the setlist both nights, nice roadies.

We recently went to 2 Black Crowes shows in Charlotte @ the Neighborhood Theater. It's a pretty small venue, but intimate is good. Of course, I was front and center "riding the rail" as we hard core fans call it. I like it that way, I get an unobstructed view and get to see first hand everything that goes on on-stage. I love to see how the band interacts and takes cues from each other during the songs and jams. Rich, rhythm guitarist (one of the brothers), is the orchestrator of it all, he runs everything, Steve, the drummer, is the backbone, he determines the tempo and leads the jams in and out, Luther, the lead guitarist, is amazing and takes his cues from Rich and then lets it rip, he forms the songs sound. Being new to the group, it's amazine how different a song sounds that the Crowes have been playing for decades, b/c he brings his own style to it. There's Chris, fontman/showman, the holder of the show. Sven's the bassist, solid and true. They have a keyboardist that's new too, but I'll hold my opinion of him - the original, ol' weird Ed, was the icing to it all. They also have two backup singers, boy to they bring the soul to this rock n roll band. It's a mother/daughter duo and I love their addition. So......while waiting up front for one of my passions, I start checking out the gear of the photographers up front, another passion. I see a guy with Canon gear and of course, to pass the time, I motion him over. I don't what he thought I was going to do or talk about, but when he realized I was a fellow nerd, we had a nice chat. He sent me the links to the pictures he took at the show. He did a very nice job capturing the vibe of the place. Photographers are allowed up front to take pictures for 2-3 songs. The rest he took from the balcony. I thought I would share the links for you, if you wanted to take the time to browse through what a typical Crowes show is like for me. I've posted a few I think tell the story, but there's plenty more in the links. Thanks for letting me ramble on one of my favorite things! I would love to hear some comments on my favorite thing or yours.
Ciao. -joy