Photo Credit: Ross Halfin

On Wednesday, May 15, The Black Crowes arrived in London for a stop on their Happiness Bastards Tour. During the group’s single set run-through, they pulled out covers, which according to their official press release, served as tributes to the likes of Otis Redding and Lou Reed via The Velvet Underground. A spectacle of the performance was unannounced accompaniment by Steven Tyler, who showed up during the night’s encore to assist the band on a cornerstone of his Aerosmith songbook, doubling a first-time play for the headliners on “Mama Kin.” The sit-in occurred ahead of Black Crowes support dates on Aerosmith’s farewell tour.

The show began with picks off Black Crowes’ latest studio set, for which the tour is named Happiness Bastards, taking shape as “Bedside Manners,” “Rats and Clowns,” before a step back to Shake Your Money Maker on “Twice as Hard.” More originals ensued, taking up the majority of the set’s first half, ultimately preluding a play of The Velvet Underground’s “White Light/ White Heat,” a song that officially entered the band’s live archive earlier this year. 

“Thorn in My Pride” and “Wanting and Waiting” separated the rollout of the next cover, this time, Redding’s “Hard to Handle.” On the other side of the cover, the headliners proceed with fan favorite, “She Talks to Angels,” following up from that piece with a newer number, “Flesh Wound.” Clicking into a capture off of Before the Frost… Until the Freeze, the group played through “I Ain’t Hiding” before another highly-anticipated tunes, “Jealous Again” and “Remedy.”

The night’s most talked about display occurred after the initial song during the encore, a take on Chuck Berry’s “Carol,” before the arrival of Tyler, who assisted his hosts with a piece from the Aerosmith archive, “Mama Kin.” “If it is alright with y’all, we wanna play one more song. We wanna dedicate it to somebody who is a dear friend, and a hero, and a legend, Mr. Steven Tyler. We will be touring with Aerosmith soon, so we wanna play one of his songs. Thank y’all! We’ll see you when we see you,” preluded the delivery. “Mama Kin” originated from Aerosmith’s eponymous 1973 debut and was penned by their lead singer/ Wednesday night’s guest, and served a a first time play for the Robinsons and company.

Watch the team-up below. 

The Black Crowes 

Eventim Apollo – London 

May 15, 2024

Set: Bedside Manners, Rats and Clowns, Twice as Hard, Go Faster, My Morning Song, Cross Your Fingers, Back Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye, White Light/ White Heat+, 

Thorn in My Pride, Wanting and Waiting, Hard to Handle^, She Talks to Angels, Flesh Wound, I Ain’t Hiding, Jealous Again, Remedy

Enc.: Carol%, Mama Kin@,

Notes: 

+ The Velvet Underground cover

^ Otis Redding cover 

% Chuck Berry cover 

@ With Steven Tyler, Aerosmith, first time played by Black Crowes