Venue: The Grace, London, UK; Date: 23/10/21;
Bands: Charles and The Big Boys, TASH and Crawlers; Doors opened 7.00pm; Show started 7.30pm (roughly)
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Rating: FANTASTIC
Oh how I’ve missed ringing ears! It’s good to have live music back!
It’s come full circle. Last gig before all of the lockdowns was Crawlers in Warrington and now my first gig back after the lockdowns (Forgetting about the Blackstone Cherry Edinburgh gig that was cancelled) is [my first-ever gig in London – rather surprisingly considering it’s my second home] Crawlers in London!
Before the pandemic I said to keep an eye on Crawlers, as they have a lot of promise and despite not playing live for over a year they’ve managed to fulfil that prediction and have had – much deserved – success and have grown!
I think they only had a one hundred and something followers on Twitter two years ago – now they have over 2000!
Having released some new songs during lockdown, they finally have their first headline tour and I wasn’t going to miss it! I expected nothing less than a great show and they certainly delivered!
I hadn’t heard of the support groups until now (and TASH were quite hard to find online, but I found them in the end) and they helped make this night something special.
The Grace was quite an interesting venue with an upstairs stage area and the glitter balls were a great little touch. I was running a bit late but I still got there in time for the start, so that was lucky!
Some of the pictures and videos may not be the best, but that’s me being a bit rusty, all three acts were great!
So, it’s been a long time coming, but let’s get to the review!
Charles and The Big Boys
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These guys kicked off the showed and the crowd (myself) included were into them. They had the tough job of opening the show and they certainly set the tone for the night!
They had a good mix of styles from punk, heavy rock and a light-Nirvana-esque song in “Seaside Suicide” (nice little song – especially considering Charlie wrote when she was 13!)
Charlie said The Grace was the venue for her first-ever gig 9 years ago and it was great to watch them live and I wouldn’t say no to watching them again – I will be keeping an eye out for them! I wish they could have played a few more songs but I suppose they had to share the stage with the others!
TASH
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The band I struggled to find online had a little technical issue a the start – First time I’ve seen a “take 2” moment (these things happen and all you can do is just laugh it off, sorry for getting it on camera, well handed though!). I will say the problems certainly didn’t affect their performance because TASH were fantastic!
I got some KrashKarma vibes from them with a song they played to chill out the crowd (I think it was “Everything is Temporary”?) and the fact that there were only three of them (there’s only the two of them in KrashKarma). Again, TASH were another band I hadn’t heard of, but will certainly watch them again. Not sure how I struggled to find them online because they deserve a lot more recognition.
TASH were a bit more heavier than Charles and The Big Boys – missed those heavy songs live! Hopefully, I can coincide my next London visit with one of their gigs – I need to see these guys again! Great choice to lead into Crawlers!
Crawlers
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What can I say? They were absolutely awful… just kidding! Crawlers were bloody great! I mean when you see an upcoming band play in smaller venues, just starting out and still have that stage presence you know they will just be at at home on the big stage and that is what Crawlers do!
Last time, I saw them play was in a pub in Warrington to about 10ish people now they are headlining concerts in-front a full crowd in a proper venue! I predicted they would be something special after I first saw them with Sumo Cyco and when you think about all of the lockdowns and how that could set them back, they have done the exact opposite and have really become something special. It’s great to hear them again.
Everyone of them have their own personality and it’s great to see that come through on the stage. They played the a mix of old and new songs – some not yet released! (Got a clip of it, but can’t upload it here – be sure to check out the official release)
It’s great to hear “Placebo” and one of their newest tracks “Monroe” live but also a joy to hear “Nymphomaniac”, “So Tired” and “Hush” live again – can’t beat the original tracks! The crowd were really into them and there was even a little mosh pit – I was not expecting that but at least it was a calm one and Holly did the right thing when she said for everyone to reset after that and relax. I rather enjoyed the “Sumo Cyco spot” (Don’t know who started it but Sumo Cyco are getting the credit for it anyway!) where Holly asked the crowd to kneel down and then jump up!
I can’t believe they came down on Saturday and went back that night – long day for them, but we enjoyed them and I know they enjoyed themselves too! Can’t really say much more apart repeating words – they have something special and now that they’re spreading out of Liverpool/Warrington the rest of the UK can enjoy a Crawlers gig night!
It was also nice to catch up with them at the end, they made sure to engage with everyone which nice to see! Hopefully, their next gig isn’t that too far away! Holly’s Scouse accent attempt wasn’t bad either! 🙂
Summary
It was a special night and for my first gig in London, I was impressed! Three amazing bands but the atmosphere was great too! The crowd was there to listen to the music not just for a night out and try and cause a bit of trouble (like at some gigs). London is up there with Liverpool and Berlin as a great city for a gig night!
I’ve got two new bands to follow as well as getting another reason (if I needed one) to follow Crawlers! Hopefully everyone had a great time!
You know it was a great night when your ears are still ringing the night after, so thank you Charles and The Big Boys, TASH and Crawlers (And the backstage crew/The Grace team) for putting on such a great show!
Next up is Marissa and The Moths in Manchester – gig city (for me, at least – I seem to see many bands in Manchester) and then it’s FOZZY (Which might be a Gigzter review – probably for the support acts rather than Fozzy). But I can’t for the next Crawlers gig!
