I feel a sense of closeness with them personally. I joined The Black Crowes cover band as a singer when I was a college student. Some of my old friends might remember that… Needless to say, it was not easy. But It was an amazing feeling to sing their groovy songs. I absolutely loved it.

In 2000, The Black Crowes were supposed to come to Japan with Jimmy Page. I got a ticket and was really looking forward to it. But the tour was canceled due to Jimmy’s health conditions. I was so sad. Therefore, It was a great pleasure and honor to get an opportunity to see and photograph their concert. It was worth the wait!

Thank you for taking your time to read this blog. Hope you enjoy my pictures!

Aki

Words and photos by Aki Fujita Taguchi

Proofreading by Yosuke Taguchi

The American rock band The Magpie Salute came to Japan for promoting their first album ‘High Water I’, which was released in August 2018. I was lucky enough to witness and photograph their show.

The Magpie Salute was formed in October 2016 by former The Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson. And the band also includes former The Black Crowes guitarist Mark Ford and bass player Sven Pipien.

The last time The Black Crowes came to Japan was in summer of 2005 as part of ‘Summer Sonic 05’, a big summer music festival in Japan. They came here for the first time in 14 years, so the crowd welcomed Robinson’s new band with enthusiasm.

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Before the show started, a crew burned incense on the right (Robinson’s) side of the stage. A trail of smoke and a faint smell of incense created an exotic atmosphere and raised our expectations.

They started the show with ‘High Water’ from their first album ‘High Water I’ and played a great set of new songs and old cover songs. They also performed a few acoustic tunes In the middle of the show, which was the most beautiful part of the concert. In those songs, we were able to enjoy the amazing voices of Rich Robinson and Mark Ford, not to mention John Hogg. Although their voice types and vocal styles are different, The harmony they created was perfect.

In the latter part of the show, they performed The Black Crowes songs in a row. After ‘Ballad in Urgency’ and our favorite ‘Wiser Time’ from ‘Amorica’, ‘My Morning Song’ was played. And then, the audience started dancing with a beer in their hands and enjoyed that moment. I was watching the beautiful and impressive scene at the back side of the hall. Not a bad way to spend an winter evening.

To our great joy, they have a huge repertoire of more than 200 songs including old classics. Therefore, the set list will be changed every night. How awesome is that?

They return to The United States and go on 2019 US Winter Tour with The Stone Foxes until February 17th. Make sure to check out a date on their website : http://themagpiesalute.com

The Magpie Salute are:

Rich Robinson (Guitar) / Marc Ford (Guitar) / John Hogg (Vocals) / Sven Pipien (Bass) / Joe Magistro (Drums) / Matt Slocum (Keyboad)

Set list:

High Water / Omission (Hookah Brown cover) / Mary the Gypsy / For the Wind / Rollin’ Over (Small Faces cover) / Look Out Cleveland (The Band cover) / Old Lady Sunrise (Marc Ford & The Neptune Blues Club cover) / What Is Home (The Black Crowes cover) / Sister Moon / Christine’s Tune (The Flying Burrito Brothers cover) / Nonfiction (The Black Crowes cover) / Take It All / Laila Pt.II (Agitation Free cover) / Can You See / Ballad in Urgency (The Black Crowes cover) / Wiser Time (The Black Crowes cover) / My Morning Song (The Black Crowes cover) / Send Me an Omen

This article was also published on my publications. Thanks to my kind editors. Check out the links below.

Culture Rock Media

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The Magpie Salute at The Garden Hall, Tokyo, January 7, 2019