Simon Rushworth@Newcastle Think Tank?, May 13 2016
It has been statistically proven that Friday 13 is no unluckier than any other date. Try telling that to the unfortunate bunch who missed out on The Burning Crows as one of Britain’s best young rock bands belted out the cream of their quality catalogue.
Riding high on the back of brand new album Murder At The Gin House and fresh from a show-stopping set at Hard Rock Hell AOR, the most baffling thing about this truly special band is their failure to make a major breakthrough.
Songs styled in the 80s and tweaked for 2016 underpin a set that swings from the self-confident to the self-deprecating and every attitude in between. It’s impossible to avoid being sucked into frontman Whippz’ happy world of toe-curling one-liners, well-meaning jibes and jovial delivery. Only then do you really notice that the boy really can sing.
Let’s face it – had The Burning Crows been clinging to the coat tails of Thunder, The Quireboys, Gun, Terrorvision et al in the early 90s then theirs would have been a story of unprecedented success, chart-busting power and legendary status. But let’s not dwell on the fear that the bullish quartet might be a band out of time: for now shows like this still stir the belief that their time is yet to come.
Shine and She’s The Summertime are just the tip of the iceberg where Murder At The Gin House is concerned but both songs already demand top billing in a Burning Crows set. It’s testimony to the quality of the Norwich crew’s most recent material that a small but perfectly formed crowd lapped up the new tunes like they were bona fide classics.
Given the paucity of punters, The Burning Crows could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel long before their ebullient ‘encore’. But Whippz, a newly trimmed Lance Daniels and rhythm section Will Lockett and Chris Chapman are no quitters. In fact they’re four of the most likeable, talented and truly entertianing musos on the live circuit right now: make your own luck and make it your mission to back The Burning Crows.