Concert Review: Black Crowes @ VooDoo Lounge

Poorly attended shows at Voodoo Lounge feel especially desolate and lonely for this concert-venue-in-a-casino. A packed house however, makes it intimate. Last night, Chris Robinson and the rest of the Black Crowes played a set for their hardcore fans and it only got jammy four times.  

Robinson spoke only twice to say, “Nice to see you all this evening” after the fourth song and “Thank you very much” at the end of the set before the encore. He let his smooth vocals and the delicious bass licks of German-born bassist Sven Pipien do the talking.

The dense crowd (possibly even more homogeneous than the one at the Kid Rock/Lynyrd Skynyrd Fourth of July blowout) seemed to cycle through moments of lethargy (as seen during the djembe-infused “Whoa Mule”) and mild excitement. I think they were waiting for some obvious hits that never got played, like “Hard to Handle” and “Jealous Again.”