Kerrang concert review

  From Kerrang Magazine
  Concert Review
  November, 1994

BLESSED CHLOROFORM REVIEW IN KERRANG MAGAZINE

HARLESDEN MEAN FIDDLER, LONDON

MONDAY 31ST OCTOBER, AND TUESDAY 1ST NOVEMBER

In the end, it wasn't much of a secret. Blessed Chloroform were the Black 
Crowes. Both shows at the 700 capacity Mean Fiddler sold out in minutes. 
If you did queue to catch an unknown name that sounded like it might mean
'Jangly Indie Band From The Home Counties', once inside the tye die 
backdrop and the candles and the bottles of Jack Daniels that littered the
battered amps finally gave the game away.
And then there was the music. Two sets, both entirely different (only
'A Conspiracy' and 'Remedy' were duplicated on Monday and Tuesday), both
played by a group of musicians who have soul and passion and magic
dripping from their fingertips like honey.

The First Night was the Black Crowes has an electrically-charged Rock n' 
Roll band; the punishing Funkl of 'Gone' leading into 'Hotel Illness'
brimming with whiskey fire, then blowing hot and holy through 'Could I've
Been so Blind, 'No Speak No Slave' and a euphoric take on 'My Morning Song'
that ebbed and flowed to a crashing, redemptive climax. Here also was 'Amorica'
in all its warm and heady glory; 'High Head Blues' snaking around a loose,
trippy groove, the mesmeric 'Wiser Time' and the savagely clipped 'P.25 London'

On the second night, they were more relaxed and more ready to fly off at a 
tangent and then fly back into the heart of the tune. It started with six 
acoustic songs; from a stripped and joyous 'Hard to Handle' to a wide-eyed
'Jealous Again'. The Crowes were lying back, chilling out and having fun.

'Thorn in my Pride', though was the pivotal moment when Blessed Chloroform
turned into a band alive to every possibility in their music. Twisting in
and out of a remarkable jam conducted from on some sort of high by Rich 
Robinsons guitar, it went anywhere and everywhere in it's 20 minute lifespan.

There was so much more. But at the heart of it all were The Crowes themselves.
They played like both angels and devils - keysman Eddie Hawrysch and guitarist
Marc Ford adding the most dlicate of inflections to 'She talks to Angels';
bassist Johnny Colt, drummer Steve Gorman and conga player (!) Chris Trujillo
pulling and pushing 'Sting Me' to its rhythmic limits; and the Robinsons,
Chris singing his heart out and Rich sudied and intense, one always eyeing the
other with that strange mixture of geniuine awe and latent malice. Up close, 
their many facial expressions spoke more than words; here are six musicians
totally involved and in love with what they do.

And here for two nites in Harlesden were the finest rock n' roll band of their 
generation beginning the rise to the very peak of their powers.