Spread Eagle – Bannermans, Edinburgh, Scotland – 18th September 2023

20th September 2023 0 By Jon Deaux

As soon as I heard Spead Eagle was bringing their Subway To The Stars tour to the UK, I was incredibly excited. The album was good and seeing as it was their first time in Scotland it was rude not to attend.

This is also the first time Spread Eagle has been able to properly tour the Subway To The Stars album (released back in 2019) as the world kindly shut down for a pandemic.

It was a relatively sparse crowd for tonight’s show but it was comfortable as you could stand legs akimbo in your finest Status Quo pose to bang your head or have a boogie. It was totally your choice. The band was in fine form and the atmosphere was that of an intimate party. With banter going back and forth with the audience aplenty.

Vocalist Ray West still has his incredible vocal range and his stage presence is phenomenal. Bassist Rob De Luca (UFO), Ziv Shalef (Guitar), and drummer Rob De Luca are incredibly fine musicians and were quite simply top-notch.

Zivs guitar work was incendiary. There was so much sweep-picking, he put Yngwie Malmsteen to shame.

The highlight (believe it or not) came from a drum solo performed by Ray and Rob that was tribal, musical, and otherworldly. I’m not a fan of drum solos (unless you’re Tommy Lee and that’s because it’s more of an experience) however I could’ve listened to it all night. Completely captured my attention.

They are a band that you need to experience live. Their stagecraft and musicianship cannot be questioned in an intimate setting like Bannermans. The band and all in attendance had a superb night.

It was really cool to meet Spread Eagle after the show (my legs were now in their normal position I must add). Such a wonderful group of people. Incredibly humble, grateful and none of the NYC attitude in sight.

Fantastic night and the front-of-house sound, courtesy of James MacDonald was loud and clear.