Review and photos by Rich Ward
Of late there seem to be a number of young bands that have got a couple of years under their belt and are now delivering the goods with a true sense of traditional unfussy good old classic rock. Tonight’s openers, Burning Crows are no exception to this. The Norwich based quartet impress on all counts. They rock, they throw the shapes, and they have a good set of songs that they play with a hunger and confidence. They are clearly enjoying themselves on this trek with the Quireboys and playing songs from their Never Had It So Good EP. Their debut album is already underway with a release planned for the new year. Expect to hear more from the Burning Crows in 2013.
Having been warmed up nicely, the Quireboys take to the stage with Spike declaring his traditional ‘We are the Quireboys, and this is Rock N Roll’, part statement of intent and part state the bleedin’ obvious. You always know what you’re going to get with a Quireboys gig and it never disappoints, good time bar room rock-n-roll with a swagger and a groove befitting the Faces or early Stones. The first few songs seem like a run through of some of their greatest hits, opening with ‘Tramps & Thieves’ followed swiftly by ‘There She Goes Again’ complemented perfectly with the Slade Rooms choir in full voice, and ‘Hey You’ to keep the tempo going.
It’s been a few years since their last studio album, but they have been writing and we get to have a taste of a couple of the new tracks, the first of which is rocker ‘Too Much Of A Good Thing’. As this has already been played on earlier tours, it already seems like a familiar favourite before it’s even been committed to vinyl / plastic / binary code. Still more favourites follow with the likes of ‘Roses & Rings’ and ‘Whipping Boy’
Aside from a great frontman and the perfect foil of guitarists Guy Griffin and Paul Guerin, the Quireboys secret weapon is undoubtedly keyboard player Keith Weir adding those extra touches that make a good song great. Evidence of this sits with the excellent new song ‘Mother Mary’. Spike pulls the Burning Crows frontman Whippz back on stage to sing ‘Sweet Mary Anne’ and he also joins in on set closer ‘7 O’Clock’, which helps reinforce the party atmosphere.
An encore of ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore’ and a raucous ‘Dirty Town’ round off an excellent evening, and while it’s good to see such a band in an intimate venue, you can’t help thinking that the Quireboys are deserving of a larger stage. With a new album in the can and some canny promotion, it would be a delight to see them returning to the Wulfrun next time.
And you can see more shots from the show here:
