By David O’Neill
FINALLY, it happened – and how! Originally meaning to be a triumphant return to Wales for the launch of their second album, ‘Point Of No Return’, the show was scheduled pre-pandemic and subsequently rescheduled THREE times – but it was SOOO worth the wait. A sold-out headline gig by the Crows is always going to be stacked to the rafters with a partisan crowd – and this was no exception. If you add in the Voice of Steelhouse, Nev Macdonald fronting Hand of Dimes, the Steelhouse family come out in droves. Talking of keeping it in the family, Max Rhead (one of the Steelhouse main men, along with Mikey Evans) even got his son’s band, Tribeless, on the bill. However, this was not just because the drummer is his son either, they are a very good young band.
With one EP and several singles released on streaming platforms (you know which ones), it was only my second chance to see them, and the first since new singer Lydia MacDonald joined the band. A quick run around socials shows that Lydia does a good cover of ‘Sleepwalking’ by Bring Me The Horizon. However, the set is far from the ballad that is displayed there.
Tribeless open up with ‘Impulses’, a thumping track with a solid backbeat and riff that carries Lydia’s vocals along well; she has some presence on stage for a youngster, treading back and forth quickly across the stage. It’s a bit of solid female-fronted rock, a bit like BMTH jamming with Paramore. ‘Risen’, new single ‘Blossom’ and ‘Formed By Us’ were included in the set; unfortunately, the rest of the set must be new as ‘Solitude’, ‘One In The Same’ and ‘Glass Souls’ are not available for streaming as far as I can tell (yet). A good start to the evening.
Now then, to Hand of Dimes, it must be like coming home every time for them. Grinning from ear to ear, the band kicked off with ‘Looking At You’ and ‘Moonlight Mile’ before rattling through ‘Bad Reputation’ and ‘Come The Hour’. The atmosphere was electric, and the crowd joined in throughout. Nev MacDonald’s voice is up there with the best in the business and the crowd were loving every minute (as were the band). As always, the ballads ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘Jacobs Ladder’ are a dead cert on the set list. ‘Guilty’ and ‘Pinstriped Arrogance’ wound it up a bit before the cover of ‘House of Love’ by Skin. Finishing up there is only one song to leave the crowd with: ‘Sail On’, and it did just that – finished the crowd.
It was obvious from the stage swap that Shane Greenhall was going to be all over the photopit and venue as the steps were strategically located. Running onto the stage and straight onto the platform you get “How are you Tramsheds?” before ‘Who Did It’ and ‘Longtime Dead’ get their usual rapturous audience approval. Shane and Lloyd Wood barely stand still-constantly changing positions on stage and platforms. It’s a good job Dave Winchurch and Shiner don’t move about too much! Perched high above everyone else on a drum riser that puts him three feet above everyone else, Ronnie Huxford continues to batter his kit relentlessly, but at least he can see the crowd from up there!
‘Sick Of Me’ and ‘Someone Someday’ keep the tempo up before ‘Set in Stone’ gets the crowd really belting out the hook. ‘Be You’ preceded an acoustic version of ‘Kingdom of Dust’ before Shane assumed piano duty for ‘Never Win’. A serious piece of social commentary on the proceedings of the last two years and the number of people that have lost loved ones meant that everyone knew that ‘Blink Of An Eye’ was coming. Shane dedicated it to all who should have been there but couldn’t be as they had been lost to the pandemic. A dedication to one fan named Daniel (whose mother was in the audience) meant that the usual emotional outpouring was readily visible in the crowd. This is one song that can probably never be changed out of the setlist as it will always touch someone in the crowd.
After an obvious struggle at the end of the song, “three more songs to go” came the shout from Shane, picking it up to ‘Sin on Skin’ and ‘Go Get It’ meant the set was coming to an end. At this point Shane went walkabout, going up onto the upper balcony, climbing over the side of the barrier and jumping the six feet down back onto the stage! Videos of this have appeared on socials overnight! After that display, there was only one way to close the set with – ‘Rock And Roll Ain’t Dead’, which it never will be as long as the Crows have something to do with it.
The one thing you get with the Crows is a performance and a damn good show, and Shane is a damn good frontman to boot.
Two years is a long time to wait, but it was worth it… it really was!