You see, Robinson brothers. That wasn't so hard now, was it?
After another lengthy hiatus beset with feuding — plus three decades of sometimes spotty, meandering and/or inebriated performances — sibling bandmates Chris and Rich Robinson brought back their throwback '90s rock group the Black Crowes for their first Twin Cities show in nine years Monday.
Performing to about 4,500 fans out at Mystic Lake Casino Amphitheater, they stuck to the basics for the gig, playing their 1990 debut album "Shake Your Money Maker" in its entirety followed by five other old, crowd-pleasing favorites.
This standardized approach may have not been the most inspired or adventurous way of getting back on the road, but it kept the show simple and tight — and probably helped guarantee that nobody got hurt and everybody had fun. Or at least it looked like the ever-stone-faced Rich Robinson wasn't having too terrible a time as he solidly, stolidly played guitar alongside his still youthfully exuberant singing brother.
Adding to the fun vibe, the band hired a greatly amused-looking bartender in a pink server's jacket to stand on stage with them behind an actual bar for the duration of the show. What a gig for that dude!
"Let's rock 'n' roll a little bit, what do ya say?" Chris Robinson excitedly hollered after the album (and concert) opener "Twice as Hard."
Donning a striped gold jacket and hip wingtip shoes — he's maybe too old now to go on barefoot — Chris quickly showed off just how well his soul-singer voice at age 55 holds up to the one he had at 23.
He sounded more Otis Redding-like in the slow-building "Seeing Things" than he did in the actual Redding song that followed, "Hard to Handle" (which the Crowes famously re-created as their breakout). More raw vocal power poured through the mic in the album's other big single, "She Talks to Angels."
With all new members save for bassist Sven Pipien, the rest of the Crowes lineup mostly played it straight and by the numbers through the "Money Maker" tunes. Things loosened up in the last half-hour of the show, though.
Starting with moody, slow-building versions of "Soul Singing" and "Wiser Time," new guitarist Isaiah Mitchell impressively stretched out and traded licks and slide work with Rich. "Thorn in My Pride" turned into the highlight of the night, with a bluesy breakdown spiked by Chris on harmonica and then a giant, crescendoing finish.
Before going out strong with the high-revving rockers "Sting Me" and "Remedy," plus a punchy encore of Bowie's "Moonage Daydream," the Georgia-bred Crowes frontman made light of the fact that it was still light out on what proved to be a picture-perfect Minnesota summer night.
"You know why they invented rock 'n' roll in the South?" he asked. "Because it gets dark early."
Sure, but sometimes taking a lighter approach is a good remedy for a rock band with a darker past.
