The Black Crowes kicked off their Happiness Bastards tour in fine style -- at the Grand Ole Opry with special guest Lainey Wilson who helped them with a live debut.
The Brothers Robinson, Chris and Rich, are notoriously testy with each other and have broken up the band or gone on extended hiatuses several times since the group formed in 1984. Thankfully, their last few forays on the road lead to Happiness Bastards, which dropped two weeks ago, and is their first studio album in 15 years.
The sound and songs are solid, soulful Southern flavored rock with all the tinkling pianos, organs, and guitars you'd expect.
One of the pleasant surprises on the album, the band's ninth studio LP, comes from "Wilted Rose," a bluesy duet Chris sings with Lainey Wilson, a young Grammy-winning country star who at nine was so inspired while seeing a concert at the Opry that she became determined to become a singer.
"Wilted Rose" is one of the gems of the album and Tuesday Laney got on that stage with them and delivered a beautiful version for its live debut.
When he introduced her to opening night crowd of 4,300, Chris Robinson said, "I guess if you're gonna play the Grand Ole Opry, you've gotta have a bonafide country superstar."
Feeling welcomed, she stayed on stage for "She Talks To Angels" as well. Which, if there were B-sides these days, would be the perfect live recording for whatever the next single becomes.
About a third of the set was from the new album, so if you go to the show, you may want to make yourself familiar with the new tunes.
(And leave Amorica out of your playlist, since it seems they have.)
The Nashville fans were also treated to live debuts of other new tunes, "Cross Your Fingers" and "Flesh Wound," the latter of which sounds like it could have been a Tom Petty deep cut.
While promoting the album and tour, the Crowes were on Howard Stern last week in an interview that lasted nearly two hours and included the band playing some songs.
Speaking of B-sides, one of the tunes they played on the air was a cover of Led Zeppelin's “Hey, Hey What Can I Do,” which was never part of the original Zep canon. We all know of the killer tune because it was on the flip side of the "Immigrant Song" and eventually made its way on extended cd and album re-releases.
Before breaking into it, the Robinsons told Stern soon it will be the 25th anniversary of the 21-date Jimmy Page & Black Crowes Tour of 1999-2000.
This was the ambitious one where Chris Robinson played the role of Robert Plant and the Crowes covered about 20 Zeppelin bangers with Jimmy on lead guitar.
The best takes from the two October gigs at LA's Greek Theater in '99 turned into the group's double live album Jimmy Page & Black Crowes, which has gone through several incarnations.
But what the boys told the shock jock, was shockingly wonderful: a 25th anniversary edition of the recordings will be re-released as a box set which will also include previously unreleased versions of the Crowes' hits (with Page on guitar) that never made it on the album.
"That record's been released a couple of times but without any of The Black Crowes' songs that we did with him," Chris explained.
Speaking of covers, after closing out their show in February in Vegas with the Velvet Underground classic "White Light / White Heat," the boys closed with it again at the Opry.
Last night in Atlanta, however, they put in in the middle of the set, so that "Kindred Friend" could receive its live debut spotlight. The brothers have not admitted that the song is about their hot/cold relationship with each other, but it sure sounds like it.
What we have left, let's make it last/ Got so far to go
Tomorrow owes nothing to the past/ Today is open road
Let's stop pretending / And write our own ending
The band will be touring over the next few months including a trip back to the Greek next week. Will Jimmy jump on stage for some custard pie?
Get your tickets via their website to find out.
The Black Crowes, Happiness Bastards Tour
April 2, 2024 - Nashville, TN - Grand Ole Opry House
April 3, 2024 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
April 5, 2024 - Houston, TX - 713 Music Hall
April 6, 2024 - Irving, TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
April 8, 2024 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
April 10, 2024 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre
April 12, 2024 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
April 13, 2024 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
April 15, 2024 - Seattle, WA - McCaw Hall
April 16, 2024 - Vancouver, BC - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
April 19, 2024 - Chicago, IL - Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
April 20, 2024 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
April 23, 2024 - Montreal, QC - MTELUS
April 24, 2024 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
April 27, 2024 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
April 28, 2024 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway
April 30, 2024 - Washington, DC - The Anthem
May 1, 2024 - Charlotte, NC - Ovens Auditorium
May 3, 2024 - Bethlehem, PA - The Wind Creek Event Center
May 4, 2024 - Atlantic City, NJ - Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort
May 7, 2024 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia
May 14, 2024 - Manchester, UK - O2 Apollo
May 15, 2024 - London, UK - Eventim Apollo
May 17, 2024 - Newcastle, UK - O2 City Hall
May 18, 2024 - Wolverhampton, UK - The Civic at The Halls
May 21, 2024 - Brussels, BE - Ancienne Belgique
May 22, 2024 - Amsterdam, NL - AFAS Live
May 24, 2024 - Paris, FR - L'Olympia
May 27, 2024 - Milan, IT - Teatro Arcimboldi Milano
May 29, 2024 - Frankfurt, DE - Alte Oper
May 30, 2024 - Stuttgart, DE - Liederhalle
June 1, 2024 - Berlin, DE - Verti Music Hall
June 4, 2024 - Copenhagen, DK - Falkonersalen
June 5-8, 2024 - Sôlvesborg, SE - Sweden Rock Festival
June 9, 2024 - Mérida, ES - STONE & MUSIC Festival
