Fans enjoy Black Crowes show at SPAC

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The Black Crowes showed the Spa City how to have some late summer fun on the local stop of the band’s Shake Your Money Maker tour.

The concert, held Tuesday night at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, featured opener Dirty Honey and the reunited headlining act both entertaining the audience with a whole lot of rock and roll.

Dirty Honey warmed up the crowd by delivering a set that was loaded with riffs, hooks, melodic swagger, soaring vocals, and a timeless rock sound. The performance was packed with Dirty Honey’s most popular songs, including “Gypsy,” “The Wire,” and “California Dreamin'” – all cuts from the band’s recent debut album – as well as the  #1 Billboard hit “When I’m Gone,” which made Dirty Honey the first unsigned the band to top the mainstream rock songs chart in 2019.

The SPAC tour stop was particularly special for Dirty Honey, which has a connection to the Capital Region. Vocalist Marc LaBelle, a Niskayuna native, shared the memory of attending his first concert at the Saratoga Springs venue. Years later, he’s found himself embodying the role of rockstar on that very same stage.

Next up, The Black Crowes began the evening’s main act with a bit of theatrics. Among a rather elaborate set for a rock show, the band members gathered around a bar, sharing a drink together as a woman in a Black Crowes jacket operated an old-fashioned jukebox to play “Shake Your Moneymaker” by Elmore James.

Soon enough the gang grabbed their instruments and came into the spotlight to start the set with “Twice As Hard.”

Frontman Chris Robinson playfully danced around with an umbrella as he sang to an amphitheater of applauding fans. Meanwhile, his more reserved brother Rich Robinson channeled his energy into his guitar on stage left.

The show continued with “Jealous Again” and “Sister Luck” off of the band’s 1990 debut album Shake Your Money Maker, which they played in its entirety.

Highlights of the set were Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle” and the poetic “She Talks To Angels.”

A few tunes from slightly later in the band’s career included “Sting Me,” “Wiser Time” and the popular 1992 hit “Remedy.”

For an encore, The Black Crowes played a cover of “Hey, Hey, What Can I Do” by Led Zeppelin.

More than 30 years after the release of Shake Your Money Maker, the music of The Black Crowes still resonates with fans both young and old, and seeing the band perform it live on this belated anniversary tour is an opportunity not to be missed.