When he was barely old enough to drink, Rich Robinson was already opening for rock megastars such as Aerosmith and Robert Plant, and filling historic venues like Red Rocks and the Meadowlands. His long, tumultuous career with the Black Crowes provided him the opportunity to headline The Futhur Festival and the HORDE tour, open for The Grateful Dead, back Jimmy Page and amass a discography that has sold over 15 million records. The brotherly riff has been a rock legend for years, and it seemed only a matter of time before the band would take one of those now common hiatuses. With his newly found free time, Rich began writing lyrics, something previously reserved for his brother, and teamed up with British Moke singer John Hogg, to form the new band Hookah Brown. Quickly assembling a Northeast tour, Rich finds himself shedding the rock star arenas and hitting the confines of the sweaty downtown clubs.
As the crowd hit maximum capacity in the top floor of the House of Blues (all 160 people),
Peter Prince and Johnny Trama attempted to warm up the crowd with their soulful acoustic duo. Prince's voice, perhaps one of the most emotional and sound in the region, got the increasingly rowdy Crowes fans to pay attention until major technical difficulties got a heckling response. Unable to rectify a short in the system, the pair painstakingly drove the Prince train on for 30 minutes before cutting the set. I almost expected them to close with "Rawhide" and pull out a chicken wire curtain.
Hookah Brown took the stage around 11:15, and pounced on the first note right out of the block. Aside from random mp3s circulating the net, and a few Crowesheads doing Hookah Brown runs, the material was completely new to everyone. As to be expected, there were many similarities between this project and The Crowes, but the strengths here are actually the differences. The band is a four piece, but technically it is a trio with the lead singer, Hogg. The rhythm section is Fionn O'Lochlainn on bass, and tremendously power driven by accomplished drummer Bill Dobrow. The drum kit is bone dry and tight, giving the band a distinctly non-peace and love vibe. The ferocity with which he plays, combined with the heavy British influence (both Hogg and O'Lochlainn are British) culminate in a sound more closely related to pop-punk than Southern rock.
Aside from Rich's playing style being familiar, when the band comes closest to the Crowes is mostly in the singing of Hogg. Although he has an English accent and a sound all his own, when he exclaims, his voice is scratchy and rough around the edges like the voice of Chris Robinson. As the band thrashes behind him, Hogg stares intently over the crowd, clapping and swaying his long braided hair, with only the Chris stutter-step omitted. The band shares the backup vocals, and Rich occasionally sings alone, but a majority of the Rich penned lyrics are handed over to Hogg. Poignant and reflective, many of the songs are written with an unavoidable look back to the Crowes. The straight rocker "Black Cloud" leaks reminiscence to older days in the line "I feel like I did before". Later in the set, Rich shares the definitive line "it's time to walk away from all the things that made you who you are".
Of course the roars of the crowd and the raising of the Bud Lights came from the Black Crowes songs the band broke out. For each of these, Hogg grabs the bass and O'Lochlainn picks up the rhythm guitar. On "Gone", the first track from the 1994 classic Amorica album, the band remains well within the boundaries of a straight cover. With it's choppy riffs and start-stop drumming, it's an appropriate choice for Hookah Brown. To close the show they performed yet another selection from Amorica, the road weary "Wiser Time". It certainly lacks the Eddie Harsch meanderings that give the song a truly sedative state, but Rich slides his way into old territory. And to fuel the ongoing debate about which brother did what to who, the opening line "no time left now for shame, horizon behind me no more pain" will certainly give Crowes fans plenty to argue about. After a rocking show, what unfortunately was somewhat lost on the bar crowd was the opening song of the encore, the beautiful "When You Will". With Robinson and Hogg on dulcimers and vocals, this ballad emanates a Celtic sound, rich in harmony. However it was barely audible underneath the yelps and bar banter, but it will certainly be a treat when an album is produced.
If you missed this tour, look for Hookah Brown dates to pop up in the next couple of months. The SXSW festival already has a tentative booking for the band in March.
side note: for those of you die hard Johnny Colt fans, check out his new project Asphalt Blaster. The man in black is back!
