As a Fan of some of these acts for 30 years, I was super keen for this gig. And although the turnout didn’t exactly fill the crowbar, those that were there obviously felt the same. This was a night for fans of Rock & Roll. If bands like this are going to continue to tour here or even come back again, it takes people to turn up again & again, so a salute to those who came out & supported live Rock & Roll last night!
From the alien voiced intro tape, to the pair of dancing girls, to the big dumb choruses that belt you in the ears & stay lodged there, Crosson are an unapologetic Rock & Roll Pantomime. The Darkness after a Sigue Sigue Sputnik bender, Mötley Crüe covering Lady Gaga, Steel Panther without the dirty jokes. Although I felt that the ‘I wanna be Japanese’ bit verged on questionable in a different way, and the thrash run through of ‘We will rock you’ was a bit ham fisted, make no mistake, there is no room for subtlety in Crosson-world! I haven’t had my eyebrows raised like this in quite some time, good or bad, and the crowd also seemed somewhat skeptical. However singer Jason Crosson coaxed, cajoled & harangued them into coming around, so by the end of the set, a healthy number of people had left the safety of the back of the dance floor to join in the party. I’d certainly be interested to see them again to see if the shtick holds, but last night… Big Dumb Fun!
When Janet Gardner arrived at the CrowBar, she looked every inch the rock & Roll Star… Big Sunglasses, high boots & leopard print. And when the band took the stage, they backed it up all the way! Janet & her band tore the roof off the CrowBar. Coming in fast & heavy with opener ‘Flamethrower’, they got the attention of everyone in the room. Following it up with a muscular version of Vixen’s ‘Rev it up’ it was clear that they meant business. Between Guitarist Justin James, Bass Player Anthony Gemignani and Janet on Rhythm guitar they have a great sound, WAY heavier than I expected, on the old songs as well as the new.
While its great to hear the Vixen tunes, the new songs like ‘Place in the Sun’ & ‘Way to your heart’ also stand up on their own. The band also have great chemistry, with easy chat amongst each other, and the crowd. Janet does a ‘meet the people’ walk to sing ‘Cryin’’ from the floor, and of course we get ‘Edge of a broken heart’ …with the “handsomest guy on the tour” (©Richie Rivera) pulling some classic Roxy Petrucci moves on the drums.
We leave ‘Planet Janet’ the way that we came in… fast & heavy with ‘Rat Hole’, leaving the crowd with big smiles on their faces. From my perspective, purely on their energy, these guys could well have been higher on the bill. They certainly went over with the crowd as well as any band tonight. Hopefully we can see them back in Sydney before too long.
The dust settles & Ron Keel, ‘The Metal Cowboy’ is up next, backed by the core of Melbourne band White Widdow, plus ‘Dynamic’ Dave “DC” Cothern. To be frank these guys were going to be up against it following ‘Planet Janet’, (most bands would), so smartly they just kept to their own game.
As noted by the singer himself, trying to fit a 40-year career into a 40-minute set was no easy task. Going through with ‘Fight like a Band’, ‘United Nations’ to their version of ‘Because the night’ through ‘Sombody’s Waiting’ and a fairly countrified version of Steeler’s ‘Serenade’. The set seemed to lack a bit of continuity, but the folks who had waited so long for the self-proclaimed ‘RFK’ to make his way to these parts certainly relished it. And he was mobbed for photos near the merch stand afterwards.
Enuff Z’Nuff finally make their Sydney debut. Opening with 2 songs from the ‘Strength’ album, which for my money is one of the best albums of that era (and still holds up) ‘World is a gutter’ and ‘Heaven or Hell’ the band go off like a bomb to start.
At this point, for people at home not up to speed, I will point out that the band now consists of Bassist Chip Z’Nuff singing, Guitarist Tory Stoffregen, drummer Daniel B. Hill and Alex Kane on guitar.
Chip, resplendent in his ‘Yellow Submarine’ escapee look, does a fine job on vocals especially on the heavier songs, and he is MORE than elevated by the band, who bring a supercharged energy to the songs.
Just a note: I first came across Alex Kane in about 2001 in London, playing in the band AntiProduct. The first show that I saw them play remains one of my top 5 gigs of all time! The guy is an amazing player and an out & out Rock Star! His Backing Vocals, energy & guitar interplay with Tory set the band off like a rocket!
The bulk of the set is mostly drawn from the first 2 albums (which suits the crowd just fine thank you very much). Although there is word of new music with this lineup which on this evidence, would be fantastic.
Things get Jammy toward the end of the set, with the guitarists playing ‘guess this riff’ with the crowd before things come to an end on a high with ‘Fly high Michelle’ and ‘New thing’.
This was a different dynamic than I expected from the band, but was really wrapped with the new lineup. Here’s hoping for new music from these guys and fingers crossed for a subsequent return visit .
Biggs
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Adam Sivewright
Enuff Z’Nuff
Ron Keel
Janet Gardner
Crosson
