By: David Schultz

Labels: Ozzy Osbourne, Patti Smith, Small Black, The Walkmen

By: David Schultz

For Halloween, New York City was blessed with a bounty of options that offered something for everyone: for spectacle, The Police played Madison Square Garden; for musicianship, Zappa Plays Zappa was at the Beacon Theater; for nostalgia, Phil Lesh & Friends began their two week residency at the Nokia Theater and for hipness, Ryan Adams graced the Hammerstein Ballroom. Those who wanted a little bit of everything got their wish too: The Black Crowes at the United Palace. A weird thing happened though on the way to All Hallows Eve nirvana, the Crowes put on a better show the night before.

Since reforming, the Crowes have made their Halloween shows anticipated affairs. In 2005, they played Beach Boys songs while dressed in tropical wear and one year later donned schoolboy outfits for a set as BC/DC. Rumors that this year would feature a Ramones block never came to fruition and save for a couple flying gargoyle type creatures floating over the stage, some creatively carved pumpkins and a couple garishly dressed backup singers, it was your typical Black Crowes show.

Guitarist Paul Stacey and drummer Steve Gorman bring serious chops to the table but the Robinson brothers are still the main attraction of the Black Crowes. Having broken his ankle, Rich hobbled to the stage on crutches and remained seated in a swivel chair for the entirety of both shows. The inability to stand may have restricted his mobility but it surely didn’t hamper his skills. In contrast to his younger brother, Chris Robinson was in a near constant state of motion, waving his arms, shaking his hips and doing his oddly rhythmic hippie dance. A master at wringing every bit of emotion out of a song, especially those involving wounded egos and embittered souls, Robinson often preaches the songs to the audience with near religious fervor. His style does have its rare drawbacks. On Tuesday night, he oversang the opening verses of “Seeing Things” which ultimately deprived the song of its slow and powerful build.

On the opening night, sound was a small problem. From the floor seats under the balcony, which nicely trapped the mingled smells of concert smokables and incense, Robinson’s normally crisp vocals were muddied and buried in the sound mix. Originally, I thought this was simply due to the acoustics of the theater but on the next night, whatever issues there were had been solved and Robinson’s vocals were much clearer. The view from the seats also provided some small humor. Seated behind a small stack of keyboards draped with an Peace symbol adorned American flag, Adam MacDougall looked a bit like Rowlf the Muppet as only his head and shoulders could be seen bouncing up and down while he played the bottom keys, tossing his hair to and fro during an encore rendition of Marvin Gaye/The Band’s “Don’t Do It.”

Tuesday night’s show, the better overall effort of the two, was a jam heavy affair. With Chris Robinson playing harmonica, the Crowes inserted a Rolling Stones “Midnight Rambler” style jam into the middle of “Thorn In My Pride” and took a bluesy segueway into “Catfish Blues” during a lengthy “My Morning Song.” As they had stretched out other songs, their closing rendition of “Hard To Handle,” which can normally run as long as ten minutes was as perfunctory as the original. Much like Aretha Franklin coopted “Respect” from Otis Redding, the Crowes have done the same with “Hard To Handle.”

On Halloween, they were more prone to freaky folk rock like “Ain’t No Cane On The Brazos” and “Polly,” which, disappointingly, had them playing at a slower and without their characteristic bluesy steam. Given the true power that the Crowes can unleash, their kick-ass version of “Another Roadside Tragedy” and smoldering reading of “Sister Luck” were oases in the valley that was the earlier portion of the show. In finishing the set with “Soul Singing,” “Wiser Time” and “Thorn In My Pride,” they recreated their performances from the night before right down to the Gorman drum solo that led to the Stones-drenched jam . For their encore, they gave the crowd the classic rock cover they yearned for, although their run through “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’” wrapped up just when it started to gather steam.

If the Crowes didn’t come up with a super-creative way to celebrate Halloween, they did offer the treat that is Patti Smith. New Yorkers have grown used to seeing Rich Robinson and Patti Smith on the same stage. Just after the New Year, the rebel poet made a guest appearance with Luther Dickinson and the Crowes guitarist when Circle Sound played the Bowery Ballroom and Robinson returned the favor when Smith headlined the Beacon Theater last month in a show honoring her late husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith. Patti Smith may not be the only one willing to ruffle Church feathers these days; she is likely the only one with the guts to enter a church (the United Palace also serves as Rev Ike’s Christ United Church) and belt out the line “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine.” For the second night, she omitted the line and only briefly touched on the song at the end of her set.

On Wednesday night, Smith joined the Crowes midway through “Nonfiction.” On paper, this must have looked promising. In practice, it was disjointed and extremely disappointing. Smith’s outré ramblings didn’t mesh well at all with the sludgy space being put forth by Robinson, Stacey and bassist Sven Pipien. Perhaps sensing that it wasn’t working, Smith kept waving Robinson to return to the mike, finding it necessary to go dance with him so that she could awkwardly lead him back to the mike by his hand.

Multiple Black Crowes shows are always best looked at in their entirety. Diehards will probably find fault with the identical closing third of both shows as well as with the Crowes’ failure to don any sort of musical costume, even if those expectations were unfairly raised amongst themselves. However, those same fans would also likely rejoice that the Crowes included lesser-known gems like “Feathers” and “Darling Of The Underground Press” in the setlists. Much like the Halloweens we all remember from when we were younger, no matter how nice the house, you still don’t know what treat you’re going to get when you knock on the door. For many, it’s that thrill of the unknown that keeps them coming back to the Crowes.

Labels: Patti Smith, The Black Crowes

Labels: Live Reviews, Patti Smith

By: David Schultz

There are certain things you can expect from a Patti Smith album: the irascible, well-spoken singer/poet has always infused a sense of politically charged, literary quality wordplay into her work. On Twelve, the New York punk legend deviates from her modus operandi, recording a selection of covers from the classic rock oeuvre. Smith is no stranger to recording songs made popular by other artists. On Horses, her 1975 revelatory debut, she made her bones with transcendent covers of "Gloria" and "Land Of A Thousand Dances," turning the innocent Sixties classics into foreboding mantras of discontent.

Smith doesn't give Twelve's twelve covers the Patti Smith treatment, offering renditions of relatively little transformative value. For every song like "Gimme Shelter" that benefits from the wizened weariness of her voice, there are two, like "Midnight Rider" and "White Rabbit" that only serve to answer the question of what they would sound like if Smith recorded them first. The thematic strain of "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" fits within Smith's worldview, but her rendition is so upbeat, it sounds like she's on Prozac. A handful of the tracks are straightforward covers, which seems lazy in the hands of someone of Smith's caliber. Others like Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise," a song long co-opted in the mainstream by Coolio, are forgettable. The lone highlight is her interpretation of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." By slowing down Cobain's celebrated guitar riff to a leisurely loll on the banjo, Smith replaces the song's immediacy with a soulful mien.

Smith keeps Twelve focused squarely on the music; the one politically tinged cover being "Changing Of The Guard," a Bob Dylan Street Legal obscurity. In remaining true to her material's original spirit, Smith has crafted some fine songs. However, for someone of Smith's interpretive ability, Twelve represents a wasted opportunity for invigorating some long-played classics with a adrenalin shot of creative energy.

Labels: Patti Smith

By: David Schultz

When The Black Crowes famously reunited for a week's worth of shows at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom, they selected a fine slate of artists to accompany them, including the North Mississippi AllStars. In addition to joining The Crowes for an encore of Elmore James' "Shake Your Money Maker" during that March 2005 run, the AllStars' lead guitarist Luther Dickinson (and his bandmates) rang in 2006 with the Robinson brothers at their New Year's concert at Madison Square Garden. As both bands are steeped in the southern tradition of the blues, it can't come as any surprise that they hit it off both on and off stage. No strangers to the joys and miseries of playing in a band with their brother, the Crowes' Rich Robinson and the AllStars' Luther Dickinson left their respective siblings at home to team up for an evening as Circle Sound.

While Circle Sound publicized their Friday night show at the Bowery Ballroom as featuring Robinson and Dickinson, it came with a heavy Black Crowes vibe. Current Crowes band members, keyboardist Rob Clores and bassist Sven Pipien, who is cultivating the Chris Robinson homeless hippie look, as well as former Crowes drummer Bill Dobrow rounded out the band. Aswirl with promises and rumors of special guests, expectations over surprise appearances ran amok and the presence of 2007 Hall Of Fame inductee and resident New Yorker Patti Smith sated all but the most unreasonable appetites for something exceptional.

Any hopes that Circle Sound would feature multiple guitar battles between The Crowe and The AllStar were quickly dashed. Robinson made no effort to match Dickinson's exemplary skills, providing rhythm guitars and complementary riffs instead of an old-fashioned duel. With his thick glasses and unkempt locks, Dickinson looks more like a librarian than a skilled bluesman. Bringing his customary phalanx of guitars, Dickinson switched axes every couple of numbers, notably breaking out a mandolin for a triptych of songs including Ry Cooder's "Boomer's Story," a song often covered by Chris Robinson when he sits in with Dickinson and the AllStars. Brother Rich seemed content to let Dickinson handle the leads, only once breaking out the slide guitar for a countryish version of Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight." For the encore, the two guitarists attempted some guitar theatrics on "Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz," an acoustic, Led-Zep style outtake from Amorica. Dickinson seemed to throw off Robinson at the start of the song by switching guitars and the two seemed to play at odds with each other until the end when they finally meshed.

With the exception of a take on the AllStars' "Bang Bang Lulu" and the acoustic beginning to the encore, Circle Sound pretty much avoided NMA or Black Crowes fare, using their Bowery gig as an opportunity to have some fun. Becoming the night's most skilled cover band, Dickinson and Robinson breathed life into some wisely chosen classic rock covers, some old-school blues and a few Robinson originals. The band's best moments were on gritty blues tunes like "Spoonful," "Mean Old World" and a pair of Johnny Winter tunes. They dove heartily into the slinky off-kilter beat of The Rolling Stones' "I Just Wanna See His Face" and they expertly Crazy Horsed their opener, "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere."

Robinson and Dickinson shared lead vocals throughout the set: Robinson fronting during tunes from his 2004 album Paper; Dickinson handling the swampier blues and classic rock covers. However, Patti Smith's voice resonated the most. Near the end of the set, the politically outspoken singer mesmerized the crowd with a rendition of "Smoke Signals." While Smith may be physically showing her age, her voice and stage presence remain as captivating as ever.

Opening act Langhorne Slim also provided some nice variety. Playing a revved up acoustic guitar like Ray Lamontagne on steroids, the gullible in the crowd could have been convinced that Slim was a disguised Jack White.

Circle Sound's Bowery Ballroom show was one for the band, who seemed to truly enjoy the freedom of taking a night off from their usual catalog to play a set of their favorite tunes. Far from an indulgent night, Dickinson, Robinson, the rest of Circle Sound, Smith and Slim exceeded all expectations, producing a fast-paced night of quality blues and rock and roll.

[PHOTO CREDIT TO VANARK - Check out more of his fine work HERE.]

Labels: Circle Sound, Langhorne Slim, Luther Dickinson, North Mississippi Allstars, Patti Smith, Rich Robinson, The Black Crowes

One year after commencing the most ill-conceived talk show in the history of commercial radio, David Lee Roth received some uplifting news: he and his fellow members of Van Halen will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007. Van Halen's induction will include both Roth and Sammy Hagar. Given the heated animosity that has developed between the two lead singers as well as bassist Michael Anthony and the Van Halen brothers, this should be interesting to say the least.

Joining Van Halen in the Class of '07 will be Patti Smith, R.E.M., Grandmaster Flash & The Funky Five and The Ronettes.

Labels: David Lee Roth, Patti Smith, R.E.M., Sammy Hagar, Van Halen