“Who is this band Crawlers that’s opening the Jane’s Addiction and Love & Rockets show” some of my friends asked me. You see, I tend to get this kind of question a lot about shows that we’re covering. I’ve always told all of our writers and photographers that you give the openers the same time and respect that you would give the headliners. Every big dawg in the industry was a little puppy at one time, so show everyone the same respect because you never know. I was already excited about seeing Jane’s Addiction and Love & Rockets for the first time and then Crawlers were also announced on the tour and my level of excitement went through the roof. If you’re a follower of I’m Music Magazine, then that name might sound familiar as we’ve posted about the band several times in our music news. They’re a four piece band from the U.K. consisting of Holly Minto on lead vocals, Amy Woodall on guitar, Liv May on bass and Harry Breen on drums. The band have had quite a bit of success over there. They played two sold-out tours in the U.K. in 2022. Their debut mixtape Loud Without Noise in 2022 created more than just a buzz for the band worldwide. Their debut album The Mess We Seem To Make dropped in February of this year.
Having an opening slot on a tour where a good part of the audience doesn’t know who you are can be a bit daunting for some, but I think Crawlers sees it as a challenge. The band took the stage as people were still filing into the Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 3, 2024. Holly grabbed her microphone stand and the band ripped into “I Don’t Want It,” a high energy banger that definitely made a lot of those in attendance pay attention to them. The infectious chorus is an earworm that you just can’t resist. They followed it up with “Fuck Me (I Didn’t Know How To Say)” which pulled the crowd even deeper into their set. The infectious melodies of their songs took control of people to the point that they could stand still. They were officially a part of the Crawlers family!
The band is seasoned well beyond their years together. Musically, they are incredibly tight and bring a rawness to their live performance that is often polished up to the point of removal in the recording studio. It’s quite interesting seeing them live because they’re too halves of a whole. Amy Woodall’s guitar skills are powerful yet so subtle. The same can be said about Harry Breen’s drumming, which lays down the driving beat for which all of these songs are built upon. Bassist Liv May is flashier in appearance with her multi-colored hair and fashion. Her bass playing is absolutely sick! I found myself hearing stuff live that I didn’t catch on the recording versions of the songs. Now, that brings us to lead vocalist Holly Minto who becomes an absolute beast when she hits that stage. I’m not sure if she can stand still without touching the microphone stand and just sing. It would definitely be a different show if she did and definitely less entertaining.
The band also had a few headline shows sprinkled into their touring schedule while here in the US. As almost everyone has seen online by now (if you haven’t you’ve been living under a rock), there was a physical altercation onstage during Jane’s Addiction’s set in Boston. Unfortunately, that caused the band to cancel the remainder of the tour. Crawlers issued a statement to their fans the next day that the rest of their intimate US headline dates were also canceled because they’re no longer viable to work without the support from the Jane’s Addiction/Love & Rocckets tour. I feel very fortunate that I was able to see the band perform in Raleigh, North Carolina and I feel really sad for those who missed out. I hope the band makes it back to the US soon to help promote their amazing debut album. This wasn’t their first US visit, so I know they will be back in the near future. This band has so much talent and potential to be really big here in the US. They have their own individual thing going on that makes them stand out from the cookie cutter, “flavor of the week” thing that’s happening too much in the industry today. We will definitely let you know when they plan on visiting the US again and when they do, DO NOT MISS OUT!
Review & pix by I’m Music Magazine Owner/Editor Johnny Price
