The Black Crows' 1992 concert at the Hordern Pavillion is one of my fondest memories of all time. The Crows were at the top of my list of favourite bands and their tape (remember those boys and girls?) Shake Your Money Maker was on constant rotation in my car. That particular concert was just bloody amazing, definitely in my Top 5 concerts ever.

So it was with some excitement that 17+ years later I fronted at the old Pav for the long overdue reprise.

There's no mincing words here. It was shit from the first second. Possibly the Hordern was a passable venue in the 1990s, possibly it's always been a shitty old barn unfit for human habitation. Either way last night was almost unbearable. It was so cold they could have sub-let the roof space to hang meat. The seats were so uncomfortable they must have been borrowed from the waiting room of a dentist's surgery.

Our seats were in the front row but towards the back of one side of the U shaped seating configuration. We had a constant stream of pissheads stumbling past us towards the bar to our right the whole night.

Now for the band itself. Well, they still rock, no doubt about it. However, most of the songs were from their new CD Warpaint which had literally only been released, with almost no promotion, a couple of weeks ago. I didn't know this stuff and obviously most of the audience didn't either. The vibe was cool. When they did throw in a classic like Jealous Again (awesome!) or Remedy or my much anticipated She Talks To Angels (what a fucking mind-blowing, heart-breaking song that is!) the place went mad. But those moments were sadly few and far between.

Since I'm complaining there was definitely something wrong with the vocals. We couldn't decide if it was the sound system, Chris Robinson's voice or if he was just forgetting some lyrics but there was definitely problems of some sort on the vocal side of things. Musically they were brilliant. Also, the back up singers. When they weren't singing, instead of sitting up on some high stools and looking like they were part of the show or even simply sliding off the stage until it was their turn again, these chicks sat back on some sort of lounge chairs just behind their microphones and literally looked like they were just kicking back at a backyard bbq. Very odd and off putting.

I left feeling sad and disappointed, desperately clinging to my old memories and hoping I could erase those left behind from last night's concert. I'm going to dig out my old CDs and relive some blasts from the past.

She never mentions the word addiction
In certain company
Yes, shell tell you shes an orphan
After you meet her family

She paints her eyes as black as night, now
Pulls those shades down tight
Yeah, she gives a smile when the pain comes,
The pains gonna make everything alright

Says she talks to angels,
They call her out by her name
She talks to angels,
Says they call her out by her name

She keeps a lock of hair in her pocket
She wears a cross around her neck
Yes, the hair is from a little boy
And the cross is someone she has not met, not yet

Says she talks to angels,
Says they all know her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels,
Says they call her out by her name

She dont know no lover,
None that I ever seen
Yes, to her that aint nothing
But to me, yeah me,
Its everything

She paints her eyes as black as night now
She pulls those shades down tight
Oh yeah, theres a smile when the pain comes,
The pains gonna make everything alright, alright yeah

She talks to angels,
Says they call her out by her name
Oh yeah, yeah, angels
Call her out by her name
Oh, angels
They call her out by her name
Oh, she talks to angels
They call her out
Yeah, they call her out
Dont you know that they call her out by her name