Chris Robinson became a little "Hard to Handle" during a fistfight that got him ejected from a Los Angeles bar last week. |

Security at the Whisky Bar, which is housed inside the Sunset Marquis Hotel, physically escorted the energetic lead singer of the Southern rock outfit and his girlfriend, actress Elisa Leonetti, from the bar following an altercation that left Robinson with a black eye and bruised ribs, according to a spokeswoman for the band.

While no damage was caused to the Whisky, management contemplated banning the singer from the establishment altogether, but changed their tune upon learning that Robinson and his mates have accumulated a rather large bar tab over the last year and a half.

Robinson's injuries forced the Crowes to postpone a photo shoot that was originally scheduled for this week. The session was to produce the images for the band's upcoming album, By Your Side (Columbia), slated for a Sept. 8 release.

All the songs on the album have been recorded and By Your Side is now in the final stages of production, according to the band's spokeswoman. She also said that fans of the Crowes' early work will likely embrace the fifth project because the music hearkens back to the raw feel of 1990's Shake Your Money Maker.

The Black Crowes are set to preview new material during their six week "Sho' Nuff Tour '98," which kicks off on June 19 at Toad's Place in New Haven, Conn. It will make stops in Athens, Ga.; New Orleans; Detroit; Baltimore and Washington, D.C., among others, before settling down in Aspen, Colo., during the Concert for Harmony on Aug. 1 and 2. (Ari Bendersky)