The Black Crowes Are Happy Bastards and They’re Proud of It! | Concert Review (Super Bowl Weekend 2024)

After my Disney College Program ended, I was unemployed, so I had a lot of free time on my hands. While everyone was working, I had to stay home and look after my dog, Roxy. Of course, I ended up watching YouTube all day and I’d be lying if I said that my watch history didn’t contain only Black Crowes concerts and interviews. The Black Crowes were my band in 2023. Despite my small obsession with Lynyrd Skynyrd from July to September of last year, I dedicated my time to researching The Black Crowes, everything from their studio albums to all the drama that occurred behind-the-scenes, and knowing the Robinson brothers, there was A LOT of drama!

I wasn’t even planning to see them in Las Vegas because when the dates were announced, I was about to start my new job as an office assistant III and didn’t think that I’d be able to take off for the concert. But, as mentioned before, the Robinson brothers have an unpleasant history of not getting along, which is also why I’ve been watching these guys like a hawk. There’s always the possibility of The Black Crowes breaking up again and with that in mind, I decided to spend the money on concert tickets and fly out to Vegas for the show. You know, see them before things go downhill again. They played two nights at the Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino Resort; Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10. My mom and I saw them on Friday, February 9, 2024. 

Not including the fees, each ticket was $174.27 and we were basically fourth row; I could’ve bought closer seats, but I had to draw the line somewhere. Heck, fourth row was still pretty dang good; I was like 20 feet away from Rich! My mom said we were so close that we could see everyone’s wrinkles. And despite us being the shortest people there, surrounded by a bunch of tall mainland people, we managed to get decent pictures at the concert.

Because it was Super Bowl weekend, my mom and I caught a Lyft ride early so that we could get there a few hours before doors opened. After an early dinner, my mom played a few slot machines, while I got in line and impatiently waited for the craziness and loudness I was about to witness. The security guards let us in at 7:00 p.m. and we headed straight for the merch table, first. The shirts weren’t mind-blowing, but they were still better than the Foreigner shirt I got last March. Despite no tour dates on the back, I was happy with the shirts I bought, especially the black and white baseball tee with a crow riding a motorcycle. I wasn’t happy about spending $50 per shirt, but that was expected because artists’ main income nowadays is based around touring and selling merchandise. 

According to the tickets, the show was supposed to start at 8:00 p.m., but instead, we waited in our seats for about an hour, while everyone else was getting their alcoholic beverages. On the plus side, I got to see the music technicians work on Sven Pipien’s bass guitar, one of Nico Bereciartua’s guitars, and one of Rich’s guitars. Finally at 9:00 p.m., AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)” started playing through the speakers and the band came on to kick things into full gear!

Even though Happiness Bastards (2024) doesn’t come out until March 15, I was hoping that The Black Crowes would play a couple of tracks from the album that hadn’t been released yet, and I got part of my wish when they opened the show with “Bedside Manners,” which fittingly enough is the opening track for the new album. Honestly, not bad at all! Great riff, nice rock ‘n’ roll beat, love the flavorful keyboard parts, and the crowd was really into it. After a banging start, “Sting Me,” which is the killer opening track for The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (1992), was next on the agenda. I lowkey geeked out when I saw Rich’s vintage red Gibson guitar because it’s iconic, in a way. I was a little worried about the guitar solo because it’s my favorite Marc Ford solo, but Bereciartua brought his own spin to it and did “muy bien”! 

Interestingly enough, the next song was “Twice as Hard,” which is the opening track from Shake Your Money Maker (1990). Chris introduced his brother for that one and that was cool of him to do so. I’m not a huge fan of “Twice as Hard,” but I’ve always liked Rich’s piercing guitar tone on it and Chris strutting his stuff made the performance quite enjoyable. I’m trying not to swear on my blog anymore, but I freaking lost my sh*t when Chris said they were going to play “Gone” from Amorica (1994). First of all, the track is highly underrated and second of all, I was so happy they were playing something else from that album, instead of “Wiser Time.” The band lowered the key a little to fit Chris’ aging voice, but it worked really well. No Steve Gorman, but that performance had so much groove and Bereciartua’s bluesy guitar tone soared above and beyond during “Gone.” 

Fun fact, while listening to my Black Crowes Spotify playlist at work, I kept telling myself that “Sister Luck” is one of the few songs from the debut album that I’m not sick of and think still holds up to this day. Coincidentally enough, that was the next song on the agenda and my gosh, Bereciartua was incredible on his Gibson Firebird. Very bluesy, emotive, and heartfelt. “Sister Luck” has an incredible melody already, but dang, that dude can play! Chris sang his butt off, but Bereciartua was the star of that performance.

For another fun surprise for the die-hard fans, the band busted out “Paint an 8” from their compilation album, The Lost Crowes (2006). Chris, being the hilarious frontman that he is, told the audience that if they don’t know the song, just ask the person next to them who’s pretending they know it. I was panicking because I couldn’t remember the name of the song; I kept thinking it was either “Another Roadside Tragedy” or “Tied Up and Swallowed.” What’s even more messed up was that I just listened to The Lost Crowes two weeks prior to the concert, so it should’ve been somewhat fresh in my mind, still. By the way, that performance of “Paint an 8” was funky as heck and Cully Symington was pretty dang good on the drums. 

Of course, the band had to play the typical hits such as “Hard to Handle” and “She Talks to Angels,” which I geeked out again when I saw Rich’s heart acoustic guitar for the latter. I sometimes joke that Rich can play “She Talks to Angels” in his sleep because they’ve played it so many times. “Thorn in My Pride” is kinda overrated, in my opinion, but all bets are off when Chris starts jamming on the harmonica! However, there was one particular song that I hoped they would play, but didn’t think they would. That song was “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution” and obviously, I lost my sh*t and was jumping for joy throughout the entire performance. Plus, you have Rich laying down the main riff and Bereciartua nailing the slide guitar parts.

Then, to get people more hyped for Happiness Bastards, the band played the first single for the album, “Wanting and Waiting,” and it sounds even better live. It’s got the big backing vocals from By Your Side (1999) and the southern flair of Warpaint (2008). After that was “Jealous Again,” which the band is also obligated to play for the casual fans. But, I got to see Chris and Rich share a microphone, and sing happily with one another, so I loved it! The second to the last song was “Remedy,” which is overplayed, but it still slays in concert because Chris’ energy and showmanship bring the song to life. 

For the encore, the band busted out “Virtue and Vice” from my favorite Black Crowes album, By Your Side. I’m surprised they didn’t play the title track, but I’m kinda glad they didn’t because they play that one a lot, and “Virtue and Vice” is such a great song. Two things about that performance stood out to me, Sven Pipien’s majestic backing vocals and Rich’s confident guitar playing. Anything from By Your Side is awesome because Rich truly gets to shine; he did all of the guitar parts for that album, after all! His guitar tone was incredible and what an awesome riff.

Unfortunately, the show had to end at some point. After finishing up, the band said their goodbyes, Rich and Bereciartua threw their guitar picks to the crowd, and that was it. In total, the show was an hour and 20 minutes, which is too short, but the setlist was incredible and the band put on a f*cking excellent show. I was a little upset that I didn’t catch Rich’s guitar pick, but I’ll get one next time! I would see The Black Crowes again in a heartbeat. If they have another two-night run in Las Vegas next year, which I hope they will, I may have to consider seeing both shows because their past two setlists were a little different from each other. I almost lost my voice when I screamed my disappointment about missing “(Only) Halfway to Everywhere” on the February 10th show. 

Now, here are a few random things that I loved about the February 9th show. One, I loved Chris’ all-black outfit with the sparkly, black pants and shiny, silver shoes. Two, I loved the black and white band logo above the stage. Three, I loved that Rich looked directly at me a few times throughout the show. Four, I loved seeing Rich smile and enjoy himself onstage, especially after everything he’s been through. 

I respect the Robinson brothers decision for reforming The Black Crowes, but honestly, I had my doubts about the show and was worried that they were playing together for the wrong reasons. However, this concert gave me hope that maybe their current reunion could last for a long time. Chris and Rich seem to be in a better place. They were getting along, having fun, and playing with their current lineup in perfect harmony. Plus, they have Sven Pipien, a talented musician they’ve known for years, and Nico Bereciartua, who’s worked with Rich previously in his solo projects and is someone the brothers can trust. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I hope The Black Crowes continue to make new music for many more years to come!

Concert Setlist

1. Bedside Manners

2. Sting Me

3. Twice as Hard

4. Gone

5. Sister Luck

6. Paint an 8

7. Hard to Handle (Otis Redding cover)

8. She Talks to Angels

9. Thorn in My Pride

10. Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution

11. Wanting and Waiting

12. Jealous Again

13. Remedy

14. Virtue and Vice

---

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it with your friends. I write about music, Disney, TV shows, movies, and whatever suits my interests. If that sounds like your cup of tea, please subscribe to my blog for more content like this! To help me keep this blog going, click here to make a donation or click here to join my Patreon. You can also follow me on social media through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Don’t forget to leave a comment down below to start a conversation!

Take care and see ya real soon!

Lana