“Don’t know about the next but the first trip is free.” The CRB Congregation across the nation is all abuzz. It’s our favorite time of year, as the 2017 tour is officially underway. Those dance floors of our dreams have been extra full, with most all shows selling out in advance. And return reports coming into the Almanac headquarters are enthusiastic and more than satisfied! I’m personally enjoying what I’m hearing so much that I’m going to skip the line a bit and go ahead and add the second night of the tour into our Almanac. Colorado has always been like a second home to the CRB and they had things warm and funky on this first evening of a 2 night run in Crested Butte. (2/3/2017)
Everybody was movin’ and all our friends were Boppin’ The Blues as the set opened with this Carl Perkins classic. Listen how Adam lays into those keys and gets things off to a sock hopping start. Neal gets some heavy slide work in and it’s easy to hear that things are clicking early. Tony starts that powerful signature kick and Leave My Guitar Alone struts and bounces forth. Neal’s guitar tone in this songs big solo has grown progressively nastier and here it cuts through the stomp like a razor. The stoney West Cost spiritual California Hymn is next and it’s gospel gait glides into a really big piano heavy jam. We then arrive at the second airing of the new song Blue Star Woman. It’s sass and sway have connected with me right away and I have no doubt it’s still growing and maturing. It’s just tailor made for a big freaky extension and I have a feeling they are going to take it to the dark, flip side as the year goes on. Neal’s guitar leads come in with just a little touch of reverb giving it a mischievous sultry vibe that I really dig. Especially when the chimes and wash of weirdness starts near the end. Who else could do Marvin justice better than CR? Try It Baby is the perfect addition to the bands cover arrangements. Jeff handles that walking low end while the band is at its bluesy best. Neal takes the first solo, laying down stuff that would have been right at home on any Stax recording. The second goes to Adam as he really shines with his glossy, weightless juke joint keys. He carries that all over into a rolling Lizzie Mae that gets into a dynamic groove before we start to hear the opening notes of Tumbleweed pushing through the deconstruction. Once it fully reveals itself it’s an instant, haunting opera of emotion from the first verse on, gathering energy before the final swell and finish. Never Been To Spain closes the set and is played a little differently, at a pace that feels syrupy and laid back. But as always, they send us into the break with that serious CRB swagger and their own style of set closing Crested Butte boogie.
~setbreak~
My ears always perk up when I hear Adam winding up for a set opening New Cannonball. Jeff takes this one over with his insistent thunder throughout. The band finds secure footing in his bass notes and begins a climbing jam that eventually levels off beneath our Wizards synthy overlay. Around the 8:30 mark you’ll start to hear a familiar snare roll from Tony. Everything breaks down and then reforms into a big Truckin’ jam, with all the lysergic delirium of Summer 71′ Grateful Dead. The propulsive feints and melodic weirdness of Oak Apple Day are the perfect follow up, “want you dream with me”. Neal steps on a thick mutron/envelope style lead that blends nicely with songs shakey sugar rush vibe. The descending intro to 100 Days Of Rain always instantly carries me away, and it also contains some of my favorite guitar and vocal work from CR. Mournful and deliberate, it sets the songs fragile and fractured mood perfectly and the bands harmony in the bridge can be down right chilling. One of Neal’s most lingering leads of the night resides here, rising and twisting like smoke before falling into a dynamic cascade. Some truly adventurous free form playing comes next in a bouncing and jubilant Hog For You. Jeff’s thick bass notes stretching out in waves as this unbridled show highlight evolves around an expanding groove for nearly 11 mins of funk and fun. The sharply etched lunar bursts of chords in Forever As The Moon reign down like a titans shake. Sparking Alan Forbes images to flash back and forth like flares through our heads. It’s then time to embark on the nearly half hour set closing journey that begins with the wandering leads and guitar swells of The Bands, This Wheels On Fire. The musical conversation opens on curvy terrain before finding a long stretch of highway for a big high speed burn toward its destination. The new LP’s athletic centerpiece Narcissus sits proudly and stately in its late second set perch. The band flashing musical signals back and forth in an ecstatic echo of collective communication. As usual, our mad scientist MacDougall is mostly at the controls dropping magic mushroom clouds of woozy organ sounds at every turn. Tony keeping the steady funk flowing for the full band to meld into one big burning galactic core. CR blows some serious harp, leading Neal into the songs big climactic solo. Adam plays a trippy and unique Shore Power intro and they blitz into another gear, burning through to the sets close. The encore is our first chance, in a Ravens Reel, to hear the band cover their close kindred spirits, Sir Douglas Quintet’s classic, Mendocino! This song is beyond perfect for the Brotherhood and made its CRB debut at the Fillmore back in December as part of a three song encore of Doug Sahm classics. Just another brilliant, eclectic choice and a wonderful ending to this glorious evening in Crested Butte.
As of this posting, the first few Ravens Reels of the 2017 Winter tour are available. They are coming fast and the music shows a band refusing to rest on the magical success they found in 2016. All the songs are played with little subtle nuances that make them just slightly different than last years versions. New riffs and licks, an intro in a new key, a little extra notch on a jam, and some interesting combinations are just some of the things you’ll hear if you open your mind and listen close. The shows are getting bigger and we’ve got lots of new, but just as excited members in our congregation of freaks! So take the time say hello, give them a hug and help welcome everyone aboard. Our little group will all take care of each other and the music will be our soundtrack as the band plays our family gatherings! Love lights way more fires than hate can extinguish! Freak On Brothers and Sisters!
Check out the gallery of this night here:
https://ravensreelsalmanac.net/catching-dreams/live-on-stage/nggallery/2017/2-3-17—Center-for-the-Arts—Crested-Butte,-CO
#crb#chrisrobinsonbrotherhood#letthecrbsetyoufree#blissmerchants#ravensreels#freaktransmissions#crbismagic#crbeings#spaceisonthephone#dancefloorofyourdreams✌️️👁
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Chris Robinson Brotherhood
2/3/2017
Center For The Arts
Crested Butte, CO
SET ONE:
Boppin’ The Blues
Tomorrow Blues
California Hymn
Blue Star Woman
Try It Baby
Little Lizzie Mae
Tumbleweed In Eden
Never Been To Spain
SET TWO:
New Cannonball Rag
Oak Apple Day
100 Days Of Rain
I’m A Hog For You
Forever As The Moon
This Wheel’s On Fire
Narcissus Soaking Wet
Shore Power
ENCORE:
Mendicino
