Those Damn Crows / The Cruel Knives - SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow Wednesday 11th October 2023

Since forming in Bridgend in 2014, Those Damn Crows have worked relentlessly to forge a reputation as a top-quality rock band with high-energy live shows. Fronted by vocalist (and sometime pianist!) Shane Greenhall and a line-up completed by Ian “Shiner” Thomas (guitar), David Winchurch (guitar), Lloyd Wood (bass) and Ronnie Huxford (drums), the band spent much of 2023 on stage capitalising on the chart success of Inhale/Exhale, through a pretty much sold out UK tour in February (including a phenomenal sold out Glasgow show), a support slot with Goo Goo Dolls in June (during which they reportedly blew the headliners off stage!) and some European dates. So, it was only natural that they wanted to finish a great year with another UK Tour, this time their biggest to date and appropriately called ‘The Takedown Tour’.

I often find that the size of a queue outside a venue before the doors open gives a pretty accurate feel of just how highly anticipated a show is. With a queue almost snaking up to the top of the old railway arches prior to Glasgow’s SWG3 Galvanizers opening its doors and another gig taking place in one of the other SWG3 venues, a lone security officer walked up and down the line making sure everyone was in the right queue. Only three or four young people walk out of the queue for the other gig, clearly showing that anticipation for Those Damn Crows was sky high. In an almost spiritual moment, fitting for the occasion, a flock of real crows flew overhead above the old arches in a special fly-past for the gathering fans. Ok, they might have been seagulls or any other type of decent sized, noisy bird but they looked like big crows to me in the night sky and that worked better for this review. So… they were crows!

By the time I entered the venue, it was already filling up nicely (albeit I briefly ended up in the other gig upstairs due to a small mix up… but that’s another story!). So, it was great to see the support act, The Cruel Knives, playing to a decent sized crowd and it was a situation they clearly relished. Arriving onstage to some foreboding sounding organ-type music that reminded me of the opening to Alan Partridge’s Alpha Papa movie, it was a strong performance of solid hard rock with a setlist made up mostly from 2019 album Side Two and a selection of singles. Starting with ‘The Life That We Made’, the band engaged the Glaswegian crowd throughout and encouraged participation in songs such as ‘Hollow People’, ‘If This is the End (I’ve Been a Fool)’ and the tempo-changing ‘Shotgun to the Head’ before finishing with a stomping ‘Crawl’. Perhaps it’s just me but there’s occasionally a doomy, early Black Sabbath vibe to some of their music and it seemed to go down well judging by the applause as they left the stage at the end of their set. If there’s any criticism, it certainly wasn’t to do with the music… but as one Rockfiend colleague exclaimed, there was perhaps some “overuse of flashy lights” causing his “eyeballs to be broken” (credit: Michael Bruce, 2023). Overall, The Cruel Knives will undoubtedly have won some new fans and should have a sizeable crowd more auf fait with their music at future Glasgow shows.

At 9pm, the lights dimmed and Those Damn Crows took to the stage to greet the Glasgow faithful, introducing themselves with their signature “we are Those Damn Crows” segment on a large stage that allowed them to freely move around and even had room for an elevated ramp in front of the drum riser. Most bands tend to start their set with the most popular song from whatever album they’re touring to promote, leaving the established fan favourites for later. So, it’s a mark of a band’s confidence in the quality of their material when they kick off the show with one of their most loved songs, ‘Who Did It’ from the Point of No Return album. As soon as the bluesy guitar riff ripped from the speakers, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands, further enhanced by an impressive sound and light show. Shane covered every inch of the stage as the hook-laden song signalled a statement of intent for what was to come.

From there, it was straight into the catchy ‘Man on Fire’, the first of many from Inhale/Exhale, an album the band is rightly proud of. ‘Send the Reaper’, a melodic yet heavy number caused much jumping and fist pumping before a 6-song salvo of music, one after the other, from Inhale/Exhale. The tour’s namesake, ‘Takedown’ was first up and it’s a song that has always struck me as something that would perfectly fit into a Daughtry setlist, such is its alternative hard rock feel… and to me, that’s a massive positive! ‘Find a Way’, with its heavier verses and more sing-along chorus has clearly found a place in the hearts of fans judging by the “whoa, oh, oh” that reverberated around the venue before leading into the Volbeat-sounding ‘I Am’. The drum intro to ‘Wake Up (Sleepwalker)’ gave the fans another opportunity to clap along to the beat and the hands raised from the front barrier to the rear exit door could be considered as a visual representation of the band’s ever-increasing popularity before the tempo dipped for the semi-ballad ‘Lay It All On Me’, a song that really should be making big waves on commercial radio.

The heyday of the once obligatory instrumental solo is probably now long over as they can be a bit of a hit and miss at shows, with many punters using it as an opportunity to head to the bar for a drink rather than listening to 5 minutes of shredding guitar. But Those Damn Crows turned the solo part of a show on its head, allowing Lloyd and Ronnie to showcase their talents on bass and drums respectively. It was an incredibly refreshing rhythm section jam that I don’t think I’ve seen before and both looked as if they were having a great time, with Lloyd managing to kick his leg out at right angles in impossibly tight jeans! The solos led perfectly into the moody and menacing ‘Waiting for Me’, slightly less melodic than what had gone before and bringing a different vibe to proceedings.

Many of the fans in the audience have been supporting Those Damn Crows from the very beginning and the sublime, radio friendly ‘Blink of an Eye’ from their debut album was greeted with one of the biggest cheers of the night. As has become normal during live performances of the song, it didn’t start with the same melodic bombast of the studio version, with Shane initially playing piano for a smoother opening before the rest of the band kicked in and the song came to life in the manner that we are more used to. This is clearly one of the pivotal songs in Those Damn Crows arsenal of live music and there’s a very special connection with the audience from the first note to the last, particularly as Shane sings “you gotta hit the lows to feel the highs”. It’s a lyric we can all relate to.

The riff heavy ‘Go Get It’ from sophomore album Point of No Return was next up, with Shane jumping enthusiastically from the elevated ramp whilst Lloyd Wood strolled across the stage, engaging with the audience at every opportunity. I mentioned in a previous live review that guitarists “Shiner” Thomas and David Winchurch choose to be more static whilst performing and that remains pretty much the case. But this is a band where it’s all about the music and connection with the audience through the music, with no need for over-the-top stage antics or overly long guitar solos. This connection was no more apparent than when “Shiner” played the unmistakeable opening riff to the anthemic ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Ain’t Dead’ (are you listening Mr Simmons????), a clear fan favourite that does exactly what is says on the tin; encouraging mass audience participation with a pulsating rock song that very much proves rock is alive and well! Superb stuff!

‘Sin on Skin’ led to the final two songs of the night; the beautiful mid-tempo power ballad ‘This Time I’m Ready’, a song that Shane explained is very special to the band, including an atmospheric, extended outro with Shane on piano and ‘See You Again’, a very fitting, feel-good song with a “whoa, whoa” section tailor-made for audience participation.

As Those Damn Crows took their bow and left the stage to raucous applause with Iron Maiden’s ‘Run to the Hills’ playing over the PA, they were left in no doubt that once again, they had just played another near-perfect Glasgow show. It was a high-energy, professional performance of hooky, riff-filled, melodic modern rock supported by excellent sound and top-notch lighting. We even had smoke and flames to top it all off! On this kind of live form, it’s no surprise that the bands are starting to play bigger venues and are attracting more and more fans, with music that is tailor-made for arenas. Those Damn Crows are leading the way to putting rock music back on the map.

“Rock is dead” moaned Gene Simmons.

“Rock N Roll Ain’t Dead” replied Those Damn Crows… and they very much proved it in Glasgow.