Let Your Love Light Shine!

The five night love fest at the San Francisco Fillmore, which were also the last shows of the "Euphoria or Bust" tour with The Black Crowes, ended Saturday night, December 20, with a sold-out crowd helping lead singer Chris Robinson celebrate his 42nd birthday. Many fans down in front tried singing Happy Birthday when the band took the stage at 9:30, but they were quickly drowned out by the opener, Feelin' Alright (the Dave Mason-penned song for Traffic but made more famous by Joe Cocker). The Crowes have not played the song live since 1997, and the fans roared their collective approval. (My husband and I had been tipped off by a Fillmore employee before the show started, who told us the band played Feelin' Alright at the sound check.)

Luther Dickinson showcased a blazing lead guitar solo on the High Head Blues jam. I had called Space Captain, a cover originally found on Mad Dogs and Englishmen with Joe Cocker and Leon Russell (a favorite of mine when I was in high school). Keyboard player Adam MacDougall got to shine with a solo on electric piano on Descending.

After the rollicking barrelhouse honky tonk of Downtown Money Waster, the ensuing jam soon gave way to the familiar Bo Diddley beat, and we were treated to Diddley's song Mona, but the Crowes performed the more psychedelic version associated with 1960s San Francisco band Quicksilver Messenger Service. Polly was another highlight of the night (found on Sweetheart of the Rodeo by the Byrds, and recently recorded by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss), featuring soulful vocal harmonies by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson. Rarely played Feathers kept with the "wings" theme, and at the opening chords of Remedy, the Fillmore contained enough rockin' energy to launch a freak-powered space ship.

As the band took their bows after playing for a solid two hours, Chris playfully elbowed his younger brother Rich while the entire band soaked up the love. My husband and I had been tipped off by another Fillmore employee before the show that Phil Lesh was at the Fillmore with his custom bass, so we knew he would join the Crowes for the encore (we even called two of the three encore songs).

Bay Area native Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, introduced by Chris as "the Governor of California", joined the band for classic Dead tunes Sugaree, Cold Rain and Snow, and New Speedway Boogie (which was written about the debacle at Altamont in 1969). Bassist Sven Pipien switched to acoustic guitar during the three song encore (hidden behind Chris in the photo above). Just four years ago at this time, we saw Phil Lesh & Friends for three nights at the Warfield in San Francisco, featuring Chris Robinson on lead vocals.

After almost three hours (170 minutes) of screaming guitars and thundering drums, the show was finally over. Rich threw a handful of guitar picks out to the crowd. Earlier, after a harmonica solo, Chris gave the harmonica to a fan down in front. After the band left the stage, roadies gave out tambourines, harmonicas, drum sticks, and set lists to a lucky few.

Setlist, Saturday, December 20, 2008 (thank you, CrowesBase!):

Feelin' Alright

Stare It Cold

High Head Blues -> Jam

Space Captain

Seeing Things

Young Man, Old Man

Let Me Share The Ride

Descending

Downtown Money Waster -> Jam ->

Mona ->

Take Off From The Future ->

Thorn In My Pride

Polly

Oh Josephine

Feathers

Movin' On Down The Line

Remedy

- encore -

Sugaree

Cold Rain And Snow

New Speedway Boogie