Concert Review
Artist: Crowjane
Date: July 22 2023
Venue: Quarters DLC
City: Salt Lake City UT
Recently I got a little clip of Crowjane releasing a cover of “Real Life” by Tones on Tail. I have been a fan of Crowjane for a couple of years now, and this one caught me by surprise, (mostly cause I didn’t know they were recording anything, having just released an EP last year). I wrote a little piece about it, and it seems to have been enjoyed by all, even getting a nod from Daniel Ash who wrote it.
Crowjane is one of the darling bands of the wonderful “Kitten Robot” record label, a darkwave experimental rock band, that really can’t fit into any one genre.
Crowjane is as of today finishing up their brief stint of live shows around the West Coast, and The Rockies. I got to see them play in Salt Lake, after their 11-hour drive from Moscow, Idaho.
The story goes like this, I was notified of their scheduled gig at “The Utah International” in downtown Salt Lake City. I was scheduled to cover the gig and was notified that they were going to be late coming into town, so if I got any interview time, it would be brief, and they were not even going to get a sound check. I was at the venue and saw 3 other bands setting up, and no one knew where Crowjane was. I ended up at another venue on the other side of the block, asking the doorman if this was where they were playing, it turns out that the gig had been moved and no one had been given the update. I was hoping that other fans got the memo and made it to the right place, that it was in a backroom at an arcade. I know this place well because I used to DJ there in the 90s.
I got in a little interview here with Heather Galipo but had to cut it short because the opening band was taking the stage.
I was talking to the drummer Shok, only to realize that we had crossed paths probably 50 times over the last 30 years, and just conveniently reconnected here. (Really, almost to the level of being at the same parties in high school).
Once Crowjane took the stage, there was no soundcheck, and the sound guy was a jerk and turned Heather’s vocals down, and there was NO lighting in the house, just a back panel (after they finished, the next band had lights, REALLY?). There were 3 people in the audience for the opening band, and Heather invited everyone from the arcade to come in and listen to them play. In short, this entire night was a complete disaster. So, with Murphy’s law kicking in and everything turning out to be a “Spinal Tap” moment, or even “The Story Of Anvil” (Both classic movies about everything going wrong for a band on the road), and everything having gone bad so far, where are you going to go from there?
Well, here is how it went, THEY ABSOLUTELY KILLED IT!!!!
They opened with “Butterflies” and I was shocked at how they just blew us out of the water. They started with a small crowd, but this video should give you an idea of what we got.
The hall suddenly had people that I knew there, guys from the SWANS gig, and other shows, and there was a “Goth pit” (everyone pogo stick dancing). But what I thought was most impressive was the other punters who showed up. There were a couple of guys that you would have thought were “Gangsta Rap”, a couple of guys you would expect to see at a mud bog event, some Metalheads, and then some guys who were obviously college football players. While the goths were up front dancing, the rest of these punters started moshing. The entire experience was surreal, all of these people were fans, there to hear Crowjane play.
They worked through their set, with Mika a professional opera singer, giving backing vocals, while Heather, still sweating from 11 hours in the car in 100-degree heat, gave us a mix of Siouxsie Sioux, Peter Gabriel horror film soundtrack.
They played “Delusion” from the album “Mater Dolorosa”, which is a great album, with a great Laurie Anderson feel to it. (This was the song that made me fall in love with their music). They got to “Ides of March” which was a mix of Siouxsie and Missing Persons, with all 4 women’s powerful voices giving the chorus. The singing is reminiscent of Jane’s Addiction, however, the vocals of Heather and crew are harmonic and very beautiful.
My fave song of the night was “Nomad”, which I have always liked, but I was surprised at how well they did it live, with the haunting vocals, and almost a choral arrangement made for a film. Heather works in film, and this was nothing short of extraordinary, a song I would have enjoyed in “The Crow” or even “Suckerpunch”. All of this while the weirdest, most diverse mosh pit was still happening.
They did “Broken Angel” to slow everything down, and the performance was no less haunting, with Mika chanting on top of the vocals that somehow would have fit perfectly in a bar scene in Twin Peaks.
They finished off with “Real Life”, tying up a short set, that they had no time to prepare for. It was incredible, they really delivered a great performance. When a band can be up against so much, seem destined for an absolute failure that night, Crowjane have a penchant for burying your expectations.
Crowjane has a few live sets planned for some more festivals this summer, their live shows are eclectic and very artistic, they have a great stage presence, and even with the sound gone bad, they will keep your attention with some wonderful performances.
Next show July 29 Long Beach, CA Supply and Demand