Upon taking the stage, Brotherhood bandleader Chris Robinson clearly felt at home beginning the final show of his band’s three-night stint at Brooklyn Bowl, inquiring of the venue’s bowler-patrons, “How’s your game tonight?” The casual confidence of this still-young band comprised of veterans was evident in their choice of “Taking Care of Business” as opener.
Heads bobbed to a few tightly delivered bluesy numbers, with keyboardist Adam MacDougall’s trippy pitch-bent Mini-Moog often carrying the melody and helping to define the group’s signature sound. The ensemble’s musical versatility revealed itself in stages, with bassist Mark Dutton laying down a juicy, rolling bassline to start “The Music’s Hot,” which also featured soloing from guitarist Neal Casal reminiscent of Little Feat. The energy reached a new plateau mid-set with a rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Down In The Flood” as large portions of the crowd began to let loose and dance. Dutton, looking serene and often nearly motionless at far stage-left, was locked in as he consistently delivered basslines that were generally big and deep, dropping heavy notes like anchors dead on the beat. “I’m A Hog For You” was the only tune of the night to feature Robinson on harmonica and left the crowd simmering as it ended the first set.
The second set began with the band providing lyrical mantras celebrating Saturday night and having a good time. The playing throughout was freer and more varied. In its instrumental improvisations, the band modulated between cerebral and spacious textures, often dominated by MacDougall, and energetic rollicking rock-outs, typically led by Casal. More than a few audience members perked up when the Los Angeles-based band busted out their cover of the Grateful Dead’s “West L.A. Fadeaway.” Another highlight was disco-jammer “I Ain’t Hiding,” the second Black Crowes song to appear during the evening. Acoustic instruments appeared for the two-song encore, culminating with a beautiful delivery of Dylan’s “Girl From The North Country”.
Despite having three records to their name, Chris Robinson Brotherhood relied on only three tunes from last year’s Phosphorescent Harvest on this particular night, fleshing out the show with their interpretations of numerous classics. If you want old fashioned psych-blues rock and roll played with authority, CRB are among the best doing it in 2015.
Setlist:
Set 1: Taking Care of Business, Jump the Turnstiles, The Music’s Hot, Oak Apple Day, Down in the Flood, Little Lizzie Mae, Like a Tumbleweed in Eden, I’m A Hog For You
Set 2: Saturday Night in Oak Grove, Louisiana, Ain’t It Hard But Fair, Shore Power, Clear Blue Sky & The Good Doctor, West L.A. Fadeaway, Tough Mama, I Ain’t Hiding, Got Love If You Want It
Encore: Betty & Dupree, Girl From the North Country
Touring in support of Phosphorescent Harvest The CRB, as they are known by their fanbase, played a few highlights of the album with “Meanwhile in the Gods…” and “Jump the Turnstiles” in the first set. The band was tight throughout the evening, which was great to see as they are breaking in new drummer Tony Leone. Sometimes when bands change members it takes a while to gel as a group, but The CRB was in fine form. Chris Robinson was in vocally great, as he always is, and even showed off some impressive guitar playing from time to time. Neal Casal handled much of the work on the guitar and it was wonderful to listen to his playing all night. He can solo with the best of them, but can also intricately shape songs without taking over the whole sound. “Tulsa Yesterday” closed the first set out with a thrilling jam that was a preview of what the meat of second set was going to be.
After a short break they came back out and hit the ground running with “Try Rock & Roll”. Everyone in Bearsville was tuned in to what the band was giving them and smiles were seen on everyone’s face, including the band between songs. Adam MacDougall seemed to be steering the jamming ship throughout the second set with some great work on the keys. The psychedelia was strong from his side of the stage and only pushed the others to join in. Chris Robinson is of course no stranger to that sound, so it was easy to see why he recruited Adam into the band. Mark Dutton may have gone unnoticed by many throughout the evening on the bass, but he has mastered being the grounding sound during the intense jams that happened. The biggest jam of the night took place during “Vibration & Light” that bled into “Hard to Handle” with a beautiful transition. The two songs were great, but the middle area where the band got weird and just jammed for a while was the clear highlight of the evening. This was followed by “Rosalee” where they once again went off the rails of the traditional song and let the space around them dictate where the song would go. Coming back with a live debut cover of Van Morrison’s “Call me up in Dreamland” was a fitting end to the evening.
Set 1: Good Rockin’ Tonight, Jump the Turnstile, Shore Power, Roane Country Blues, Star or Stone, Meanwhile in the Gods…, Tulsa Yesterday