Chris Robinson Recalls ‘Most Violent’ Black Crowes Concerts

Chris Robinson has detailed two of the scariest live shows in Black Crowes historical past.

The first befell in 1991 when his band carried out as a part of the Monsters of Rock live performance in Moscow, alongside Metallica, Pantera and AC/DC. The present befell because the Soviet Union was dissolving, making for a tense backdrop. As Robinson recalled throughout an look on Club Random with Bill Maher, army presence was all over the place.

“They tanked the building,” Robinson remembered, noting that the gang was estimated at 1,000,000 folks. “Within the morass of people [officials] wanted to form some areas. So how did they do that? Riot police beating people with clubs until they could — like both sides, fighting, like digging holes towards each other. And that day I got kicked.”

The state of affairs was unstable, even for the performers themselves — one thing Robinson realized the onerous manner.

“There’s millions of people backstage, soldiers for miles and policeman,” the frontman continued. “I couldn’t find a bathroom. So I go all the way around to this – there’s, you know, 38 semi trucks back there. I go around to where I don’t see anyone.”

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The rocker tried to discreetly take a leak, solely to be confronted by an armored guard.

“I pee behind this truck and I look up at a guy with a rifle, and that long green Russian jacket. He started yelling Russian. I’m like, ‘I don’t know what you’re saying,’” Robinson recalled. “And he just comes up behind me and he kicked me in the small the back so hard. My face is up against the thing. I’m peeing still. And he is yelling at me and holding his rifle. And I pulled up my pants up.”

Robinson Has a Similar Experience in Chile

Five years later, Robinson skilled one other scary second when the Black Crowes have been enjoying in Chile, opening for Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Again, it was a time of turmoil, because the nation was on the latter a part of army dictator Augusto Pinochet’s rule.

“It was weird. It was very strange,” the singer famous. “Everyone was at that concert. The whole country, it was the first rock music. And I didn’t realize that. But I have a picture with El Commandante, this guy in full, like banana republic regalia.”

As Robinson recalled, a serious army official got here to the band and requested a photograph which proved to be uncomfortable.

“He comes backstage and he has like, military guys. He goes, ‘I wish to take an image,'” Robinson explained. “And we take the photographs after which the man holds his gun and he’s performing like he is killing me. And I took an image. It was humorous, however it wasn’t sort of humorous.”

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Later, the Black Crowes climbed towards the top of the stadium just as fans were being let in.

“I’ve by no means seen this. Somebody stated, ‘Let the crowd in.’ So they opened the stadium gates and youngsters begin to come. But whoever, that man [from the picture] perhaps had stated, ‘Wait a minute, I did not say do this.'”

The scene quickly turned violent.

“They tried to shut these gates and we have been on the highest of the stadium and so they had perhaps, I do not know, 10, 12 guys on horseback with these enormous canes, actually lengthy. And they rode these horses into these youngsters and simply began whipping them and whipping them again,” Robinson recalled. “And that is some of the violent issues I’ve ever seen.”