Simon RushworthThose Damn Crows @Newcastle Think Tank?, February 4 2020
Those Damn Crows are flying.
A UK headline run that’s selling out fast.
A brand new album out this week – bursting with positive intent.
The invaluable patronage of the rock music press.
The backing of a canny label renowned for developing new rock talent.
And at the root of it all a passion for delivering no-holds-barred hard rock.
Those who doubted Those Damn Crows hang your heads in shame.
The sky’s the limit for the Welsh firebrands blazing a trail across Britain.
And that relentless upward trajectory was evidenced in all its glory on the opening night of the Point Of No Return tour.
In Shane Greenhall Those Damn Crows boast a true star.
Sure he can sing. Find us a Welshman who can’t.
But the frontman’s ability to switch from booming invective to affecting melody is only part of the story.
Greenhall commands the stage. He connects with his crowd.
And he’s a rock star to believe in at a time when the genre needs new heroes.
Given time he might even learn to embrace the in-ear monitors that dangled around his neck like a noose for most of the night.
Or maybe not.
Tricky tech aside, this was a triumphant night for Bridgend’s bright new hopes.
Imagine Eddie Vedder and Mark Tremonti jamming Shinedown tunes for fun: that’s Those Damn Crows in a nutshell.
The band’s focus on creating something that’s indisputably heavy – and yet delightfully melodic – has paid off big style.
This show might have been squeezed into a sold out Think Tank? but it sounded like something primed for arenas.
Someone Someday still stirs the emotions while the brooding Blink Of An Eye – replete with Purple Rain intro. – is beautiful to behold.
But what of the new tunes underpinning Point Of No Return’s much-hyped pitch for mainstream success?
Kingdom Of Dust delivers on every level while Long Time Dead was a long time coming for North East fans enjoying a rare glimpse of Greenhall and co..
And Sin On Skin? Great play on words and an even greater riff.
No sign of second album syndrome here then.
But that’s hardly surprising.
Those Damn Crows aren’t a bunch of wide-eyed kids blinded by false expectation.
This isn’t a band likely to implode in the blink of an eye.
They’re built to last and bound for glory.
Ian ‘Shiner’ Thomas and his buddies have been around the block too many times to let this momentum swing slip from their grasp.
In fact set closer Rock N Roll Ain’t Dead significantly downplays Those Damn Crows contribution to the UK’s New Wave Of Classic Rock.
It’s alive and kicking. And kicking ass.
Images By Adam Kennedy