The Black Crowes / Big Sugar @ Choctaw Grand Theater, Durant, OK

Words and photos by Duane Clawson

With great sports teams there is a dynamic that defines the way they play. With great music it is much the same, a spark that makes magic! With the Black Crowes that spark has always been brothers Chris and Rich Robinson. The problem is you never know what that spark will ignite. For the most part the result has been excellent music! If you watch them on stage, you occasionally see them give each other a sideways glance when something may have been a bit off. For now, they have a handle on what has led them to the best of times and the worst of times.

If you have read one of my reviews before, you have seen me mention the importance of getting to the venue early to catch the opening act. Tonight, I was introduced to the Canadian band Big Sugar, about 30 years too late! Lead singer Gordie Johnson, who has been there since 1988 has amassed numerous accolades from the industry and fellow musicians. If you are looking for a little bit of everything, Big Sugar is your band. From the straight up Texas Blues of “Ride Like Hell” to the tricked-out reggae/ska feel of “Turn the Lights On,” Sugar is on it. If there was ever a perfect sampler platter, Big Sugar would be it!

A few months back I saw the Black Crowes were returning to the Grand Theater at Choctaw Casino, and I knew I would be there come hell or high water! The band is touring in support of their first new music in fifteen years, which comes from the album titled Happiness Bastards. The songs from this album will go down as some of the best they have made! AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll)" crescendos and fades guiding the Crowes to the casino stage. Mimicking their choice of hype music, they continue in that fashion with the powerhouse opener “Bedside Manners” from the Bastards album.

Chris welcomes all to the 'Happiness Bastards rock and roll show, Thursday night edition.' Extending his opening monologue with 'We’re gonna make a sound called “Rats and Clowns”', this song also from the new album. If the Black Crowes and AC/DC made a baby, “Rats and Clowns” would be the result. Maybe catching a few off guard with two new songs in a row they level it all out with “Twice as Hard.” The addition of back up singers Mackenzie Adams and Lesley Grant help salvage “(Only) Halfway to Everywhere.” Not that the song was bad, but Chris needed some bailing out after referring to Oklahoma as a flyover state.

Just getting their feet wet with a new band it was great to hear them perform hidden gems like “Girl from a Pawnshop,” from the 1996 album Three Snakes and a Charm. Taking a break, Chris leaves the stage to brother Rich for a raucous cover of the Who’s “Seeker.” With his vocal cords properly rested, Chris returns for the Crowes classics “She Talks to Angels,” ""Thorn In My Pride,” and “Remedy.” When shows this good are almost over, you hate to see it end but The Black Crowes will keep it interesting right up to the encore. I had read in a former band member’s book that Chris often picks an obscure song to work into the setlist. The obscurity tonight, “Rocks Off” the opening track of the 1972 Rolling Stones album, Exile on Mainstreet. You can feel the band’s reckless interpretation, loud, proud, and unashamed, just like the Stones would have done it in '72! Trends will come and go, but there will always be a place for the Crowes in the halls of music history!

Thanks to the Black Crowes and to Choctaw Casino for allowing MTC MAG to be front and center!

Photos of the show are below:

Big Sugar