Located inside the Asheville Civic Center, the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is named after the famed writer of the same name, born and raised in Asheville. If you've never read any Wolfe there's probably a greater chance that you've at least read a bit of Kerouac, who likely would never have picked up a pen had it not been for Wolfe. To a lesser extent, the influence of Wolfe's writing also bled into Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut's work as well, and if you've never read anything by any of the writers mentioned here so far, you're doing yourself a disservice. Like any Black Crowes fan who goes back seeking out the music that influenced Rich, Chris, Steve and all the other players who've played in the band over the years, if you're a fan of good prose you owe it to yourself to seek out the influences of great writers.
So next time you've got a trip planned by way of bus, train or plane - put your Blackberry or your iPhone in your pocket, leave that copy of Sports Illustrated or People magazine where it lies and take along instead a copy of Look Homeward, Angel...On The Road...Fahrenheit 451...or Slaughterhouse-Five. Feed your brain with quality and put the junk food down. That's our recommendation of the day. On to the show...
Off to a fun start courtesy of Jealous Again, the acoustic set tonight got rolling early and had the Asheville crowd raring to go. For you Chris'ism biographers out there, you were likely scribbling furiously during the greetings and jokes that came before one of the better Hotel Illnesses of the tour so far, which has sort of become the Sting Me of the acoustic sets. And since Steve was already out front, Whoa Mule seemed like a possibility right about then...and sure as eggs is eggs, suspicion became reality. By this point things already seemed a little tighter than the night before in Charlotte, and that was confirmed with a fine version of Lost My Drivin' Wheel that Chris sang with some serious feeling. Maybe it was Luther's money-in-the-bank slide solo. Maybe it was the Elvis shirt. Whatever it was, when you're making your live tour compilation once this thing winds down, Drivin' Wheel from Asheville better be on there. Here's a sneaky clip to show you what we're talking about that unfortunately got cut short due to a security lady that came along and busted up the proceedings. You might say she was a hard headed woman just as mean as she could be...
After a run through What Is Home, the Ballad > Wiser journey lifted off and when Luther got a little lost during the Ballad solo, Steve tried to give him a re-entry point with a few rolls and fills that were ultimately all for naught. So be it. Every song can't be perfect. Imperfections are what make things real. And that's all right. As a result or not, Luther seemed to hang back a little on the jam into Wiser while Rich played some acoustic slide and things stayed mellow for the most part. During Wiser, by the time Rich had put the 12-string down and plugged in we began to lean toward the opinion that night in and night out, his personal time during Wiser Time is the best part of the song. He just goes off, every time.
The second appearance of East Virginia Blues in three nights offended no one. Just a perfect song for any Crowes acoustic set - anywhere, anytime - but especially for this weekend run through North Carolina. Some really nice piano playing from Adam. Oh Josephine made only its second acoustic appearance of the tour so far and concluded with a laid back outro that made us wonder how good a Hammond B-3 might sound here, and then Nonfiction drifted in and went on its usual way for about 9 minutes. A syncopated Chris vocal drove My Morning Song to the impending march toward tambourine revival and resurrection but for a Sunday just a little more church piano would have taken the congregation up to the pearly gates. The second Miracle To Me of the tour and the first to arrive in acoustic form closed out the set in fine fashion as one of those songs that comes around just enough to remain fresh. Miracle To Me would have fit right in on Band.
After Move It On Down The Line sauntered in with its signature keyboard Adam intro, the electric set was off and running, only to run smack into a nasty, filthy, disgustingly pleasing Black Moon Jam that would have healed the sick, raised the dead and made the little girls talk outta their heads. As a friend mentioned recently, "The Black Moon Jam gets played so infrequently nowadays that it is a HUGE treat." We couldn't agree more. It's taken on many forms over the years, like this and this and this, but since 2005 has stayed relatively in that same foul, putrid vat of the devil's quicksand. A good Black Moon Jam is like bathing in goblin manure. You get that stink all over you and just stand there smiling. Commendable job by Luther during Black Moon Creeping's solo, playing those tough runs that only Ford can really nail. A fine, fine 2010 version for sure and not bogged down by an over-done drawn out ending.
It was almost a crime for a tune as pretty as Let It Be Gone to be made to follow, but the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department never showed to lock anyone up in the jailhouse so it must have been deemed legal. Then the first Greenhorn of the tour and the first in nearly a year popped up out of nowhere and proceeded to take everyone along on a mellow little mid-song jam that came back around and concluded with a really nice ending and chorus. The next 45 minutes were comprised by three songs: Poor Elijah, Downtown Money Waster and Thorn In My Pride. Elijah went way out on a limb at one point before coming back in with some funky organ sounds from Adam and Money Waster saw Rich leading everyone along on a jam that sounded too organized to have been a total improv but with players this good sometimes you can't tell.
As you can see by the setlist above, Oh Sweet Nuthin' was slated to come next but was scratched at the last minute due to a lingering pulled hamstring suffered backstage in Raleigh two days earlier. With an off day coming up after Asheville it was determined that a few more days rest would be best. As the healing process moves along we fully expect a return to action within the next week or so. And don't buy into the popular theory that the band cut it from the setlist because they were running late. Not true.
Hard To Handle and Remedy closed out the electric set and had plenty of folks in the crowd singing, dancing and carrying on, which Chris thanked everyone for prior to an encore consisting of She Talks To Angels and the always welcome Hot Burrito #2, hiccup start and all. If you were looking for a good time tonight, your wish came true.
A few more pics below and then it's down to Jacksonville for a Tuesday night double set show at the Florida Theater.
More pics here courtesy of David Oppenheimer.
