Some artists and genres are naturally most impressive in a live environment. Specifically, the kind of blues-inflected hard rock performed by Those Damn Crows and Monster Truck really comes to life when you can feel the grooves resonate through your whole body, the inherent loudness of the music surround you and the crowds mosh or else throw up horns in appreciation of a genre that despite not being the most complex form of rock n’ roll is one we all keep coming back to because this sound embodies the brashness, and care-free fun quality that we love about the genre and community.
Those Damn Crows (10) are first on tonight. Being locally renowned, the amount of concert-goers wearing band shirts sporting their name or logo, shows that a significant number have shown up specifically for these. And understandably so – as always, Shane Greenhall and co. display a stage presence that few bands can match. Opening on the anthemic Who Did It? its quickly demonstrated that this band are in their element in Cardiff as the audience immediately start to sing the lyrics back word for word.
The momentum continues on to the brilliantly sentimental ballad of Blink Of An Eye, through the songs from their new album, and reaching a truly triumphant moment on closer Rock N’ Roll Ain’t Dead, where our frontman quickly runs off stage, reappearing on the venue balcony, quite literally commanding all of the empty space in the room. All the while, the entire crowd powerfully chant “Who said rock n’ roll’s dead!”. This is a line I remember shouting when I first saw Those Damn Crows supporting Skindred in 2018, and then again when I saw them at a post-lockdown gig in Cardiff Castle.
Let that be a marker of how much of an impression their songs and performances leave on audiences, and why they are one of the best live bands on the circuit!
If our openers commanded half the audiences support from the start of their set, then Monster Truck (8) command the attention of the other half. As, from where I was stood in the middle of the room, all the Those Damn Crows fans seemed to go to the bar following their set as a throng of Monster Truck fans moved to the front of the venue. While this might initially seem like a challenge for the Canadian blues-rock outfit, this allows them to play firmly to their audience.
If our openers commanded half the audiences support from the start of their set, then Monster Truck (8) command the attention of the other half. As, from where I was stood in the middle of the room, all the Those Damn Crows fans seemed to go to the bar following their set as a throng of Monster Truck fans moved to the front of the venue. While this might initially seem like a challenge for the Canadian blues-rock outfit, this allows them to play firmly to their audience.
Admittedly, the band seem to be simply moving through the motions at the start of their set, which receives a similarly static response from the audience – to answer the central question of the first song Why Are You Not Rockin’? we’ve just been impressed by the support act, and this feels like a step down. Fortunately, the energy from both the band and the crowd picks up as the set goes on. Interestingly, its actually the new songs like Golden Women and Live Free that provoke the most raucous responses, as circle pits break out and the band react with more freneticism and showmanship.
The long slow burner of For The Sun is a setlist stand-out featuring some of the most focused performances and intriguing lighting of the show, while Get My Things And Go is evidently the new track that the band enjoy playing the most, seeing guitarist Jeremy Wilderman zealously leaping around stage in the anthem’s closing moments.
Ending on Don’t Tell Me How To Live and The Lion, this reviewer is certainly left with a greater appreciation of Monster Truck and their sound, by seeing how well these songs work live. While their set seemed significantly slower paced in its opening moments, by the end they were impressing just as much as their support act.
Ending on Don’t Tell Me How To Live and The Lion, this reviewer is certainly left with a greater appreciation of Monster Truck and their sound, by seeing how well these songs work live. While their set seemed significantly slower paced in its opening moments, by the end they were impressing just as much as their support act.
Jon Harvey, the frontman and bassist of Monster Truck, talked in his interview with me about how much he enjoys playing to Welsh audiences. After tonight, I’m sure that sentiment has been strengthened in the minds of all the performers on stage.
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