EVIL SCARECROW – THE RUBY LOUNGE – MANCHESTER 27/01/2017
2nd February 2017This being my 2nd event of the year, this was one that i had been counting down the days and hours to.
It’s no big secret that I’m a fan of the headliners performing at The Ruby Lounge tonight and that I may have seen them quite a lot, but you can never get enough of a good thing!
Tonight’s line up includes The Empty page, Dog Tired and Evil Scarecrow.
First up are 3 piece The Empty Page from right here in Manchester.
The Empty Page back in May 2016 went to Canada to record their debut album ‘The Empty Page Unfolding’ with legendary producer Garth ‘GGGarth’ Richardson who has engineered recordings for the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nickelback and Motley Crue and operates Nimbus School of Recording Arts in Vancouver, Unfolding which he produced came out on October 21st.
Not seeing these guys before they take me back to my high school days, hands up all those that owned the Buffy The Vampire Slayer soundtrack CD? Anyone? No? Must just be me then!
If you ever owned or listened to this CD, you could imagine these guys to feature on it, they are that damn good, this would be the slot that they fall into.
Well these guys are an eclectic mish mash of perfection; they have that modern alt-rock feel, with elements of indie a dash of punk and zest of grunge for good will.
With hearty lyrics and powerful vocals from front woman Kelii Compulsive, she shows off her fantastic vocal range with the song ‘Big Wheel’, this gritty track throws a mighty punch and you feel yourself ultimately bouncing along.
These guys have started the night with a powerful impact, lets hope the second band on stage tonight can keep up with what this band has brought to the table.
https://www.facebook.com/Theemptypagemusic/
Second band on stage are Dog Tired, an old school heavy metal band who hails from the furthest never regions of Penicuik.
This 4 piece Edinburgh based band bring as assault on your ears with their beast of a performance.
Frontman Chris Thomson shows that he can produce some meaty vocals and guttural growls, mixed with powerful shredding riffs from guitarist Luke James and thunderous demonized beats from the drum master Keef Blaikie, they surge through their set with some almighty songs such as their title track ‘It Came From The Sun’, this tracks proves a popular favourite with the crowds as the brutality of this song demonstrates this bands full glory as they show pure agility and showmanship as they blow away the cobwebs by blasting the crowds with this powerful number, which grips you and surges through your veins like a volt of electricity.
Their innovative sound is so masterful, dynamic and intense you just want to see more.
Looking forward to catching these guys again.
https://www.facebook.com/dogtiredmetal/
Last on stage is Evil Scarecrow, dancing out onto the stage in all their eccentric get ups to the music of the Scorpions ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’, yes it is going to be one of those sort of nights where these guys put a smile on your face and make you leave in one of those feel good kind of moods.
The last time I caught up with these guys i had a 1 on 1 with brother pain (ew er Mrs!), to talk about what they had been getting up to and a general chit-chat.
We spoke about how some critics gave the band negative remarks and some positive and how they see themselves through the eyes of their fans.
The way I see it is, if at Bloodstock 2013 they are given the first slot of the day and they have sold out crowds of well over 10,000+ people getting up early out of their tents to watch them perform then they must be doing something right.
I know some will see them as gimmicky and a party piece, but Evil Scarecrow is about getting the music across in a weird and wacky fun kind of way.
These guys think outside the box about how they can get their songs across, and if that means 6 foot robots, inflatable crabs and little aliens and spaceships then so be it.
Tonight they produce some of their new material such as ‘Hurricanado’ and ‘End Level Boss’ this was very interesting as they try to get the crowds to do all the party moves to this song in a small venue with sell out crowds here tonight, so with wall to wall people trying to get people to ‘jump’ ‘hit’ ‘dodge’ ‘hit’ was very interesting, and have you ever tried to scuttle left and right in a venue with wall to wall people? No? Me either until tonight.
Also watching drummer Jordan Spencer aka Ringmaster Monty Blitzfist jump over his drum kit then get the crowds to lift their hands in the air, then he walked across the crowds across everyone’s palms raised in the air, with one of the drums playing as he walked. Absolute craziness!
The band played some all time favorites as well, ‘Robototron’ and slowed things down with ‘Blacken The Everything’.
They end the night with ‘Crabulon’ which the crowds then give the band their full attention and take notice as they scuttle about to this hilariously fantastic crowd pleaser.
The night ends on a high, the crowds interacted throughout the bands set and the band gave it their all, just superb soul penetrating metal produced in such an awe-inspiring way.
These guys have corned their own niche in the music industry.
