Whitfield Crane and company came on stage at last and immediately power into some dynamite hard rock with the classic 'Neighbour'. Throughout the set the guitarists play some blistering licks, with one delivering a more blues based hard rock style and the other able to fly through a bit of shred. The bass player looks bit out of place, resembling a Ron Perlman dressed up as Vanilla Ice, but he plays and sings well though.
'C.U.S.T 'and 'Panhandlin’ Prince' are followed by 'Come Tomorrow' and 'No One Survives'. By this point in the night the older but energetic crowd has gotten right into it: a girl close by decides she is going to crowd surf to the front with the crowd not really dense enough, but she makes it. This display has emboldened another fan although he is a much larger dude, and I’m sure his transit from crowd to stage involved some floor time too….
Crane’s demeanour on stage throughout the evening was one of a confident frontman. There is very little chat between songs but Crane has an easy and very natural rapport with the room, he exudes a confidence which really underpins the performance. He made the crowd sing in the choruses, and during the songs his vocal was exactly as I remember it from the originals. The one thing that was a bit disgusting was his tendency to spit on the stage every couple of minutes, perhaps I’m showing my age here but I was real uncomfortable with that……no need.
