So much good music - so little time! The WRC are so fortunate to have strong ties with fans, bands and of course publicists. Consequently Pennsylvanian band Crobot have been on the WRC radar for a while now but it wasn't until (appropriately on a flight back from the US recently) I found their album 'Something Supernatural' on the Virgin playlist - something that I was well impressed with! Given the fact that I was also told if you’re a fan of the album you’ll be absolutely be blown away by their live show - consequently attending one of their gig's was a no-brainer.



Anyway, as expected The Underworld rocked as Buffalo Summer, Scorpion Child and headliners Crobot began their UK Invasive Species Tour by blowing the bloody roof off of the Camden venue last Friday night! Partly due to the early curfew - but more to do with the fact that we spent too long drinking upstairs in The World's End - we missed the start of Buffalo Summer's set (sorry guys). Hailing from South Wales - their tag of an effortlessly up beat; groove-laden; sing along balls out Rock 'n Roll band was immediately apparent as we caught the end of their set. 'Rolls On Through', with a great riff from guitarist Jonny Williams, was complimented by Gareth Hunt's drumming plus another great guitar solo from Williams on the catchy 'A Horse Called Freedom'. 'Down To The River' rocked but they saved the best for last with 'Money' it's 'Zep' influences oozing through - with vocalist Andrew Hunt's voice and mannerisms a la Plant and the energetic bass of Darren King finishing with 'A Back In Black' outro! Promise we will definitely give these guys the courtesy of witnessing a full set next time we see them!



Crobot's Nuclear Blast riffing label mates Scorpion Child were next up and they would take the 'Zep' inference to another level. The Texan flags were unfurled and the five-piece band from Austin were ready to unleash their brand of Heavy - Acid Rock. Positioned at the front, we literally witnessed an in your face performance as vocalist Aryn Jonathan Black continually rocked his microphone stand back and forth, patted the heads of the assembled photographers and finally leapt into the crowd - not crowd surfing as such - but just giving a friendly embrace to those lucky enough to be within the vicinity. But just as importantly the music rocked as well with Christopher Jay Cowart on lead guitar, Jon "Charn" Rice on drums, Alec "Mexecutioner" Padron on bass plus the rockin' heavy keys of AJ Vincent added a welcome dimension to their genre. Stand out's in the set were 'Liquor', 'Polygon Of Eyes' and ‘She Sings, I Kill’ - a new track given a furtive glimpse into our forthcoming 'Sophomore' album. Another great band - consequently we not only got the t-shirt but also one of Jon's drumsticks!



Follow that! Well headliners Crobot are an American hard rock band from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, composed of Brandon Yeagley (vocals/harmonica) , Chris Bishop (guitar), Jake Figueroa (bass) and brother Paul Figueroa (drums). Their album 'Something Supernatural' smacks of Creed, Wolfmother and Velvet Revolver - so it was fitting that they launched proceedings with 'The Legend Of The Spaceborne Killer' - testament that there was going to be no let up in the the intensity of evening. Other 'SS' tracks were lapped up by the Crobot faithful particularly the classy 'Skull Of Geronimo', 'Le Mano de Lucifer', 'Nowhere To Hide' and the brilliant 'The Queen Of The Light'. Yeagley's vocals, stage presence (and harmonica on 'The Necromancer') were immense, Jake's antics were reminiscent of Animal from The Muppets playing bass, Bishop is literally huge (and more importantly plays a mean guitar) whilst Paul's driving drums pulled it all together. Bravely, they did play some new stuff though - particularly towards the tail end with 'Edge Of The Sun', 'Hold On For Dear Life' and 'Upon A Pale Horse' - but finished off an awesome night returning to 'SS's 'Fly On The Wall'. You can't knock the energy and quality of Crobot's performance although it will be interesting to see how 'second album syndrome' kicks in - given how high the bar is following 'Something Supernatural'. The tour culminates with both Scorpion Child and Crobot supporting English Rockers Heaven's Basement at the Engine Rooms, Southampton on Thursday 3rd December. If you love traditional 60/70's Rock then do not miss them!



AJ