The Black Crowes find Florida fans hard to handle after “USA” chant

“Hard to Handle,” indeed. Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson received a less-than-warm welcome at his concert in Tampa on Sunday night when he mocked fans chanting “USA.” The band’s Southern Hospitality Tour features a graphic of the group’s mascot, a black crow, wearing an Uncle Sam outfit. When the graphic popped up on a screen behind the stage, fans began their pro-America chant. The band was about to launch into their hit “She Talks to Angels,” but Robinson grew frustrated with the patriotic refrain. “Thanks for the geography lesson,” he responded sarcastically. When the chanting didn’t stop, he added, “I don’t know what you have to be so proud of right now,” a risky statement in an especially cherry-red state. 

According to TMZ, fans began booing and leaving after Robinson’s riposte, actions that did little to calm the singer. “Some of us have real faith. For those of you fucking booing us, some of us are not afraid,” he told the crowd, acknowledging the departing attendees. “And we most assuredly are not fucking ignorant.” Robinson had recently told MOJO that he’s “not interested in politics.” Online commentators were quick to deride his onstage statements as divisive, though some came to the band’s defense. Robinson is no stranger to whacky concert experiences. In a SiriusXM interview last month, he claimed that a fan once told him his friend’s wife’s leg had been peed on during the band’s show in Tanglewood, Massachusetts.

The Black Crowes are on tour through August in celebration of their newest album, A Pound of Feathers, which came out in March. 

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