From: dvw@cbnewsh.cb.att.com (diane.v.wilkerson)
Subject: Black Crowes, Beacon Theater, NYC 8/24/92
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 17:12:42 GMT

I sent some of this to Doug Fierro a couple of days ago, and since there is 
*some* interest in the Crowes, I thought I'd post what I saw.  I am a Crowes
fan (trying to get to see them in Atlanta next week), so of course this
is biased in favor of the show.

There are spoilers below if you are going to see the show...


T-shirts, tour guides, rolling papers with "High As The Moon Tour" logo in
wonderful '70's distortion script on sale in the lobby, one of the
t-shirts is a multi-colored tie-dye.

OK.  The Urban Shakedancers opened the show, they are from Atlanta,
probably imbibing buddies of the band, no harm, no foul.  Very nice covers,
nice "Hey, Bo Diddley", very nice, go sit down.  

The stage is set with a big cargo net shaped like a tent, with lights hanging 
off the net, the front of the "tent flaps" pulled back, and big colored light 
bulbs strung on rope from the back of the theater (near me) to the top of the 
stage.  The rope and the net both are made from hemp.  The floor is covered 
with 5 oriental rugs.  When the opening band left the stage, the roadies 
removed the Urban Shakedancers stuff, and vacuumed the rugs.  Yes, you read 
that right, vacuumed.  Steve's drum kit was set up on one of the rugs (the red 
one), and the rest were placed in from of the drums.  They were playing various 
blues records (mostly unknown to me) between the sets.  The lights in the
theater went out, then the front of the net "tent"
was drawn over the stage like a curtain.  A song "Are You Ready?" (artist
unknown to me) starts playing, and lights start flashing on the "curtain" 
making a vertical pattern like raindrops.  Song ends.  You can see the band 
taking the stage through the curtain, stage is still dark save for the curtain 
of lights.  Band starts riffing.  Chris: ARE YOU READY?  I SAY, NEW YORK, ARE 
YOU READY?  Riffing starts to build into "No Speak, No Slave".  Chris:  LET'S
PUT THIS MOTHER ON THE ROAD!  Stage breaks into blinding light, curtain is
pulled back, band tears into "No Speak...", Chris, barefoot (this explains
the vacuuming), goes careening across the stage like an out-of-control top.  
Facing the stage, Ed and the keyboards are at the far right, Rich is next, 
Chris, Johnny, and Marc on the far left, Steve directly behind Chris.
Rich is taller than I thought he would be, Chris looks a more muscular
in the legs.  Chris uses a wireless mike, taped to a mike stand, and he hauled 
that mike stand from here to Maine and back.  (I read that he hurled a mike 
stand at Rich's head while they were rehearsing "Sting Me" before recording 
the album, I wonder if it was the same one...)

I can't remember the entire order of the set, but the opening was:

"No Speak, No Slave" <Sigh>
"Sting Me"
"Twice As Hard"

Chris hopes that Jerry Garcia gets better.

"Black Moon Creeping"
Short instrumental jam

Chris yells about critics, and says this isn't the '70's you know.

Band starts extended jam into "Thorn in My Pride", which I think any child of 
the '70's would be proud of (we, the faithful, get it, Chris), distortion and
feedback to the maximum.  Jam blands into "Thorn...", which revs up mightily 
after the vocals into a fast jam, then slows into Ed's keyboards at the bridge, 
then the ending.

Then in some order:
"Hard to Handle"
"Sometimes Salvation" (which *I* think should have been replaced by "Sister
Luck")

Chris tells the people up front who are not dancing to go home.

"Could I've Been So Blind"
"Hotel Illness"
"Seeing Things"  <Sigh>
An extremely powerful "My Morning Song" <Double Sigh>

And ended with:

"Stare It Cold"

The encore (only 1)

A semi-acoustic "She Talks To Angels" (the most popular song with the majority)
Chrous of "Spoonful of Sugar" (that most of the crowd didn't get, Chris wanted
it to be a sing-along)
"Remedy" <Sigh-cubed>
"Jealous Again"

They were LOUD.  Different pictures flash in the background during the songs, 
mostly that one from the CD with all the skeletons, and a picture of a guy in 
a "Holy Trinity" basketball jersey holding a guitar, I couldn't figure out if 
it was Rich or not (I know they went to a private high school), my angle was 
bad.  Near the end of "Stare It Cold", Chris asked everyone to lose their 
minds for 10 seconds (a favorite thing of his), and while we were screaming, 
they pulled out a huge flag with a marijuana leaf and the words "Free Us 
<leaf> No Narcs".  The flag was made of hemp fiber too.  


Chris wore a black shiny shirt, and the burgundy velvet pants from the
"Remedy" video.  Rich wore a black suit with white pinstripes.  Johnny
and Ed were in all black.  Marc was in jeans and an orange
shirt (and was excellent!), Steve looked like he came from his job at
the insurance company, with tan suit, no tie (Chris: "Best Dressed Drummer as
voted by GQ and Playboy!"). 

Near the end of "Jealous Again", Chris introduced the band.  He grabbed Rich
from behind in a bear hug, and dragged him to the front of the stage.

Chris thanked us all for coming, said he appreciated it very much.  It looked 
like a good time was had by all.  It was by me.  While the rest of the band
stood around in standard rock poses while playing their guitars (especially
Rich), Chris was flying all over the stage, and I still don't know how he 
managed not to end up flying backwards into Steve and the drum kit,
although he did graze an amp.

After the show in Atlanta next week, they are taking two weeks off, then
doing some shows in Virginia and Kentucky the rest of the month.

Any questions?

-- 
Diane Wilkerson    | 
AT&T Bell Labs     | Honk if you hate all of the presidential candidates...
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