Arriving at La Belle Angele on what was a rather rainy and bleak night in Edinburgh (what’s new right?) I had a little hiccup getting in and had to wait on my , however the staff sorted it out quickly. While I was waiting though, it seemed like the steady stream of people entering the venue wasn’t going to stop. I took this as a good sign of what was about to come.
After snaking my way through the crowd and saying what seemed like a million ‘sorry’s’ as I squeezed ed people, I couldn’t the last time I saw a venue this busy already for the coming on.
I just made it into the pit on time, to get my camera out my bag and start snapping the first and only act of the night, James Bruner and his band. The now Nashville based singer-songwriter from Illinois took to the stage with a blaze of pure power and excitement, it was like someone had wound him up backstage and let him go, but it was amazing to watch as he instantly captured the crowd’s attention!
It seemed there were already fans amongst the audience, but also new fans, I heard one woman shout ‘Yessss this is everything’ as he leapt off the stage into the pit and up onto the barrier to hold hands with people in the crowd and sing, half way through song number five in the set.
Let’s not forget the amazing band that accompanied him. The bassist ‘TJ Fink’ was captivating, but I couldn’t tell if it was the slaps he was giving that bass or his majestic locks of bouncy curly hair that were keeping me locked in.
Either way, that, along with James’ 70’s style rock n roll stage presence and look, the amazing licks coming from the guitar and the drummers hyper focused enthusiasm, it just worked! I was all there for it, and if they play Scotland again, I’d be all there for it again!
Highly recommend people check James out if you like nostalgic 70s-80s rock/metal. The music just instantly made me feel like I was young again, listening to my dad play records from his teen years. Also, check out TJ Fink who is a singer-songwriter in his own right and recently just released a new single.
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On to the main act and Those Damn Crows kept the crowd waiting a little bit past their set time before emerging from the dark of side stage. The band came first and started playing, then singer Shane Greenhall came running on to the stage and started belting out the opening vocals to their hit ‘Let’s Go Psycho’, with the biggest smile on his face.
The Welsh rock band formed in 2014 and I’ll be honest I hadn’t heard much from them before this evening, but every time I mentioned their name to one of my friends leading up to shooting the gig, they all seemed to know who they were, so it must just be the fact I live in a bubble or the fact that 2022 was the first year I had missed and they had been there and took to the stage three times over the weekend!
The name of the band comes from Drummer Ronnie Huxford’s father who is a former musician that played with big names back in the day, and stems from him being in the garden one day feeding the birds and shouting ‘Those Damn Crows’, which Huxford took to the band and they soon after, adopted!
What I will say about the band, and particularly singer Shane, is that they bring the energy for sure. The crowd was mental, and by that, I mean they were packed into La Belle Angele like a tin of sardines, the heat alone that it created was making everyone sweat, but the atmosphere was electric. I would say the audience was made up of predominately middle-aged or older generations but due to the biker esc vibes Those Damn Crows music exudes, this didn’t surprise me, and me being on the slightly older side myself, I totally get it, and I love it.
After I had done my three songs of photography in the pit, I really struggled to get through the crowd. Once back up to the bar area I could see that there were even people standing in the corridor and not quite fitting in the main room for the gig. It was literally bursting at the seams, with eager fans (a sight I’m sure the band were happy to see).
At this moment I got to just stand back and enjoy the rest of the show, which went as I expected. The high energy continued, and the band gave it everything. Shane and the guitarist both doing jumps off the drum riser and into the air throughout the set and Shane even standing on top of the speakers at points to lean across the barrier and be at one with the crowd, who of course lapped it up.
When their set came to an end after their last song ‘Rock n Roll’ played out across the venue, I was actually quite sad the night had come to an end as the sense of community amongst their, already rather large, fan base was quite apparent. It was one of the friendliest gigs I’ve had the pleasure of going to. I can see big, big things yet to come for this band and I feel like 2025/2026 could be the years they break into the American market with a bang, and once they have done that there will be no stopping them.
Their music might not be for everyone, especially not the heavier/death/thrash metal lovers among us, but if you, like me, are also a lover of a bit more of a mainstream, guilty pleasure type of rock and metal anthem at times, then they will be right up your alley!
If you get a chance to check them out before they start playing bigger and bigger venues then do it, you won’t walk out feeling disappointed.
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Pics by Lightnin’ Rose Media
