With an album and a clutch of singles under their belts, and having won a support with the eminently hummable Toploader on their national tour, you'd expect THE CRESCENT to exude all the arrogance and bravado reflected in their expletive-riddled interviews.
As they take the stage, though, the Liverpudlian band are positively demure, opening with a moody prelude to an otherwise upbeat set. With the exception of front man and promary songwriter Wayne Whitfield, the band appear a little cowed by the atmosphere. They get on with the job in hand - but the fully-seated audience and woolly dynamics of the venue do little to suit their gritty vocals and over-loud guitars.
By their third number and biggest single so far, "On The Run", the band have proved they have plenty of hooks, even if some are a little familiar. Indeed, "On The Run" bears more than a passing resemblance to The Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."
The mood lightens as guitarist Karl Rowland dons a Rickenbacker for a dose of Kinks-esque strum and sunshine, which matches a swinging bassline, which has otherwise suffered from struggling equipment.
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As the set develops, the band appear increasingly Merseybeat, despite the tracksuit tops and buttoned up jackets. It's only with their last song, however, that The Crescent sound like they're doing more than paying the bills with other peoples' music. Huge sustained guitars swim with he most direct and audible vocals of the night ("Do you feel what I feel/ do you see what I see?"). The psychedelic lighting and epic guitars (epic with a capital U followed closely by a 2) lead into a solo which makes you suspect their record deal might have been earned as opposed to an accident of nature.
There are sparks of originality in them there hills. Job done
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