Chris Robinson Brotherhood @ SOhO ~ May 10, 2011

Try It, You'll Like It

I'm not normally a big jam-band fan. It's not that I hate the genre, it's just not my cup o' tea (being a punk rock girl and all). So it took a lot of persuasion from friends whose musical opinion I trust to get me out to a Chris Robinson Brotherhood show, dragging my feet the whole way. I was pleasantly impressed.

CRB took to the stage starting the set with a bluesy number, thereby pulling me in. There was visible chemistry amongst the five band members, as well as considerable talent. The drummer in particular was definitely feeling the music, while the keyboardist often sounded like a third guitar. My fear of an hour long jam session subsided as the set varied between blues, southern rock, and jam rock. In fact, I counted only two Dead-like jam songs out of eight in the set - not bad.

The crowd was engrossed in the melodious sound and groove produced by the Brotherhood and the elation was tangible. The first set was a full hour, comprised of eight songs of a good variety. I was told the second set really "opened up" - which was explained to me as "more grooving" (or "music you can dance to"). The crowd was full throttle grooving as the CRB launched into the second hour set and I took my leave.

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood is definitely worth experiencing, even if it is out of your musical comfort zone. It may even open your mind.