Chris Robinson Brotherhood -­ December 30th – Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom

Photo by Matthew Mendenhall

The Scene: It seems to me that each year the New Year’s Eve festivities kick off a bit earlier than the last. This New Year’s Eve Eve, we were already in the midst of a full-blown celebration when the Chris Robinson Brotherhood took the stage at Denver’s Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom.  An intimate setting made even more so by the prohibition of any and all photography set the mood for an up close and personal evening with this 90’s Rock icon – close friends with the likes of Phil Lesh and Bob Weir – the often biblical-looking, ultra-talented and mega-sexy frontman of The Black Crowes: Mister Chris Robinson.

With nearly as much of that gruff, soulful Rock ‘N Roll sound as The Black Crowes, Robinson and his Brotherhood led the Denver crowd through a number of originals, covers, and everything in-between.  On the guitar we had Neal Casal, Adam MacDougall on keys, George Sluppick on the drums and Mark Dutton on bass.  Though not quite sold-out, the venue was filled just enough so that this laid-back, low-key crowd had plenty of room to fully enjoy themselves.

Chris Robinson Brotherhood: Kicking off the first set before 10pm was a badass cover of Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City.”  The track was ideal for the first of the night but not at all necessary since the room was filled with big to diehard fans.  Considering the multitude of options for live music last Tuesday, only the truly faithful were present for the first night of CRB’s New Year’s run .

Two Chris Robinson Brotherhood originals came next, “Jump The Turnstile” and “Badlands Here We Come,” with the opening notes of the former either teasing or sounding eerily similar to The Dead’s “New Speedway Boogie” which would forecast the later part of the show.  The band’s chemistry was tangible, especially between guitarists Robinson and Casal, with the music fluid and the sound impeccable.

Following the two originals, the band ran through a rocking version of Bob Dylan’s “Hard Rain Gonna Fall,” and then a semi-cover of “Roll Old Jeremiah,” originally performed by Robinson and the Black Crowes. For the majority of the first set, however, the band stayed with originals that were fresh and delicious, proving the sustainability of Chris Robinson and his songwriting.  The three original tunes that closed the first set were “Tulsa Yesterday,” “100 Days of Rain” and “Poor Elijiah.”  Up to this point, CRB had provided their audience with not only an awesome precursor to a long week of live music, but a really nice change of pace to ring in 2015.

Around 11:30pm, the band returned to the stage for two more originals, “Hello L.A.” and “Tornado” before moving into the only complete cover of the second set, Johnny Rivers’ “Seventh Son,” performed in the CRB style but played true to it’s initial sound – something Robinson is terrific at maintaining in his renditions.

Two Black Crowes’ “renditions,” if you will, “I Ain’t Hiding” and “Appaloosa” were performed between two CRB originals, “Tuff Mama” and “Sunday Sound,” creating a spectacular Chris Robinson sandwich to close a shorter second set, and leave the crowd in anticipation for an encore that was inevitably going to happen.

Personally, I’ve seen Robinson perform most with Lesh, Weir, Jackie Greene, and the rest of the Terrapin Crossroads gang, so it was no surprise that the night’s encore would consist of a Grateful Dead two-fer.  Renditions of the Jerry Garcia-led “Mr. Charlie” and “Sugaree” made for a splendid encore that was in delightfully Robinson form.

No costumes, no production, no “scene,” just the band, the crowd and some incredible, heartfelt, original musicianship from Chris Robinson and his bands of insanely talented artists.  Weaving the perfect blend of covers, originals, and Black Crowes favorites, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood curated the most ideal night we could have asked for for the Eve of the Eve of the 2015 New Year.

Chris Robinson Brotherhood – December 30th, 2014
Set 1: Bright Lights, Big City, Jump the Turnstile, Badlands Here We Come, Hard Rain Gonna Fall, Roll Old Jeremiah, Tulsa Yesterday, 100 Days of Rain, Poor Elijah/R. Johnson

Set 2: Hello L.A., Tornado, Seventh Son, Tuff Mama, I Ain’t Hiding, Appaloosa, Sunday Sound

Encore: Mr. Charlie, Sugaree

Energy: B+
Musicianship: A+
Sound: A+
Stage Presence: A
Set/Light Show: B+

Overall: A-