š Live Act of 2022:
@ Manchester Ritz 5th October, supporting Monster Truck.
A welcome return to this category in 2022, after the previous two years of covid related lockdowns, cancelled and re-scheduled gigs, and general financial related reasons, it was great to finally get out and support live music again. It has been the hardest category to chose a stand out winner from, but in the end one particular band just stood out in my head that little bit extra.
Back in October, me, my cousin and her husband set off to Manchester to see one of our favourite Canadian bands, Monster Truck. Prior to covid, they had been one of the last bands we had all seen perform and we wanted to catch them again. This time, they were playing at the Manchester Ritz, with support from Welsh rockers Those Damn Crows.
Those Damn Crows have been a band that I have wanted to see perform live for ages, they have in the past even been at festivals Iāve been to, and I have for whatever reason missed their performance each time. I love their albums, and their live performances have been stuff of legend amongst the rock and metal community. Not so secretly, I was super excited to hear they were in support of Monster Truck, and on arrival at the Ritz I headed straight over to the merch stand to join an extensive queue of people wanting Those Damn Crows attire. Needless to say, my cousin had been to buy a Monster Truck t-shirt and to the bar within the time it took me to get to the front of the Those Damn Crows merch queue. It was clear, I wasnāt the only one excited to see them live.
On stage Those Damn Crows lived up to the hype and more! Youād be forgiven for thinking they were the headliners for this tour, the excitement among the crowd was matched by that of frontman Shane Greenhall, he owns the stage, when heās on it! When heās not on it heās surprising those of us stood watching on the balcony by appearing and then standing on the actual balcony! A ādonāt try this at home kidsā moment, or at least youād think that was the case the way Manchester Ritzās security clung on to his legs during his 'death defyingā stunt! What a hero! What a band! They blasted their way through around about an hour so of tracks from their two albums, āPoint Of No Returnā (2020) and āMurder and the Motiveā (2016), and by the end of it I was left wanting more! Not to take anything away from Monster Truck, but I kind of felt sorry for them having to follow on despite it being their tour!
As we head into 2023, Those Damn Crows are on a headline tour of their own, with only their own high class performances to out do. Their new album āInhale/ Exhaleā is set for release on the 17th February 2023, and their mini UK tour kicks off at the sold out Key Club venue in Leeds on the same day. In fact, most of the dates for this tour have sold out already, perhaps they need bigger venues. Mark my words this band are good live. Their popularity has grown massively, if you do get to see them live, you are in for something special.
Album: Inhale/Exhale
Released: 17th February 2023
Label: Earache Records
Website: https://www.thosedamncrows.com
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