Back in the Spring our quintet boarded the mothership and beamed down some cosmic American psychedelic rock and roll to the other side of this stone, embarking on a sonically successful European tour. Four shows in they had cleared away the space debris and all systems were working properly. This fifth night found them taking the stage at the legendary Paradiso in Amsterdam on March 3rd (2016). One of the best shows from the tour abroad, I had a ball revisiting it for today’s entry. Trust me Freaks, you will dig it as well.
One of our usual set openers Hello L.A. Goodbye Birmingham sets the evening and crowd in motion, followed by a buoyant Jump The Turnstile. They give it a big groovy second half that I can only image sent waves of excitement through those who’d long awaited the roadshow coming to town. A fiery solo from Neal lights up this Roan County Banjo, which also contains some levitating organ fills from Adam. The spiral of sounds emerging from Reflections allows the band to keep the flow moving effortlessly. CR has some serious fun with Dylan’s She Belongs To Me, strumming away with great rhythm playing to match a stellar vocal. Meanwhile In The Gods, as often is the case, marks the point the set really takes off. They dance through the body of the song before toying with an almost full stop, then breaching the hilltop, screaming down like Kesey’s bus with no brakes! Lucky for us, they gather all this energy and lead our heads through a nice controlled jam, one full of some unique work by Adam, and it’s the shows first look at the band in all their psychedelic glory. With a wink and a nod we effortlessly ease into Tumbleweed In Eden. I love these times when they juxtapose spacey jams with slower songs full of imagery very much rooted in this planet. Neal takes the song and runs with it from the start, leading them through lots of crests and falls. A really stellar rendition. Listen to Adam mimicking both guitars as they burst into the set closing I’m A Hog For You. A big slab of Americana comes when CR pulls out his harmonica and the band lays into the boogie behind him. I can’t help but smile hearing the Netherlands crowd roar it’s approval as he assures them they will be right back, then exit stage right.
~setbreak~
The band picks up directly where they left off, kicking Shake Rattle & Roll into gear and really letting it strut. Setting the tone with some major Chuck Berry (guitar) meets twilight zone weirdness (keys). They put a little extra groove into Ain’t It Hard But Fair and it’s evident we have set a course for something memorable. What follows is a six song, hour plus long journey into wonderland, with the CRB as our personal tour guides. This first shimmering light lands on our California country thing in a really full, slide heavy Rosalee that gets a complete stop and shut down of the engines. They coast along through the “downhill to the beach” section of the song until pacific waves catch the entire venue and off we go into a big roaring jam. One full of early morning Woodstock anthem riffs from Neal and chime like windswept keys from Adam. Once we make it through that asteroid field, we glide through a melodic Star Or Stone that soars at times until that “telephone ringing” brings back the last verse. They hit the congregation with a big funky dose of 80’s dead in my absolute, hands down favorite CRB West L.A. Fadeaway. This thing just slinks along, exploring every crack of that dirty Los Angeles sidewalk. Dodging “old mistakes” and “steady jobs” while they give it the full Brotherhood workout, allowing Adam to go into mad scientists mode much to everyone’s delight. Next comes a Vibration with three big jams allowing him to carry that madness over. They get into some truly eerie spots that require Neal’s blasting solos to escape. This is what the soundtrack to really cool sci-fi comics would sound like. With syncopated hand claps from the crowd over the HAL-5000 keys, they groove straight into a front end jammed I Ain’t Hiding. Pure disco funk, touching on some of the same themes they explored in Vibration. What happens at the start of Got Love If You Want It is a must hear. CR strums that powerful riff, calling out to Adam and Neal who alternate blasts of light across the stage. Then after the verse, Neal takes an insane slide solo that sets off a soulful swagger from the band, marching into CR’s vocal. The harmonica once again comes out and the song races into a double and triple time jam. Neal giving one last amazing performance as he steps out front and explodes. These guys really know how to close a set. The encore is a really funky After Midnight that starts with Adam alone on the Rhodes. CR joins and the rhythm section jumps in to ride the groove. Very little vocal here as they lean toward letting the instrumental sections shine.
This entire tour overseas is full amazing shows, this is just one that I seem to come back to often, mostly for its amazing second set. Milan, Barcelona, Madrid and Paris all were very special nights so if you dig this one check those out while you’re at it. I love hearing earths house band blowing minds so far away and this show no doubt will be in heavy rotation for you as well. Click the link to grab this collection in all its stereophonic glory and send some love to someone who needs it today. We all get by with a little help from our friends. Freak On brothers and sisters!
Check out our gallery of this night here: https://ravensreelsalmanac.net/catching-dreams/live-on-stage/nggallery/2016/3-3-16—Paradiso—Amsterdam,-NL
#crb #chrisrobinsonbrotherhood#letthecrbsetyoufree #freaktransmissions#crbismagic #crbeings #spaceisonthephone ✌️️👁
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Chris Robinson Brotherhood
The Paradiso
Amsterdam, NL
3/3/2016
SET ONE:
Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham
Jump The Turnstile
Roan County Banjo
Reflections On A Broken Mirror
She Belongs to Me
Meanwhile In The Gods Tumbleweed In Eden
I’m A Hog For You
SET TWO:
Shake Rattle And Roll
Ain’t It Hard But Fair
Rosalee
Star Or Stone
West L.A. Fadeaway
Vibration & Light Suite
I Ain’t Hiding , Got Love
ENCORE:
After Midnight
