Bristol was the first date of a mini tour of 4 gigs presented by EVIL SCARECROW dubbed ‘The Krakhen Wakes Tour 2024’, in light of the most recent releases of ‘Nuclear Fallout Machine Sentience’ and ‘Release the Krakhen’.
The gig kicked off in earnest with the return of a two piece act, In The Whale from Greeley, Colorado. The band comprises Nathaniel Valdez on guitar and lead vocals with Eric Riley on drums and vocals.
In The Whale supplied a no-nonsense heavy rock themed set with a combination of clean vocals, screams and growls from both Nathaniel and Eric. The sea of Evil Scarecrow fans, combined with the narrow venue of Bristol’s Thekla was a perfect start for the support outfit, who have supported Evil Scarecrow in the past.
Before Evil Scarecrow officially took to the stage, various band members appear to add finishing touches to the stage, dressed in full attire with huge cheers from the crowd who are excited for them to perform. The back of the stage was adorned with two backdrops that looked like the sides of a submarine, viewed from the inside. As a keen observer, I particularly enjoyed seeing a cuddly soft toy crab randomly being held aloft, ready for the ‘Crabulon Overlord’ to make an appearance - spoilers!!
Here we go, the intro tune rings out and Evil Scarecrow take to the stage, Dr. Rabid Hell on Vocals/Guitar, Count Gravedïga on Guitar, Kraven Morrdeth on Bass and Ringmaster Monty Blitzfist on Drums file in before kicking off with one of the latest tracks ‘Nuclear Fallout Machine Sentience’, which the crowd proudly supported with backing vocals including yours truly. Evil Scarecrow went straight into the next banger, ‘Robototron’ which included the mandatory 80’s robot dance whilst singing “I am Robototron, Exo-skele-titanium, I am cyborg-champion, I am Robototron”, remembering we are on a boat, the atmosphere was amazing. On either side of the stage were two cardboard-box robot puppets joining in the madcap dance. Dr Hell did his best to keep a straight face as he launched into a random tune of "We're on a fucking boat", much to the crowd’s delight.
Prior to progressing with the setlist, we had to learn the dance moves of “Punch, Jump, Punch, Dodge” as they wanted an active audience for the next number, ‘End Level Boss’ before ‘Master of the Dojo’. The Thekla stage is not very big, but before we knew it, a huge inflatable karate dude was covering Kraven with a giant set of chopsticks that were given to a lucky gig-goer to try and catch an equally massive fly that was dangling from a stick for a chance to win a free DVD, I’m not sure if they managed the feat and to be honest with so much going on, it was hard to know where to look and when!
The "We're on a fucking boat" reprise continues to put smiles on the sold-out crowd before they launch into golden oldie ‘Helldog’, which amuses Dr Hell as he continues to laugh, declaring the song as “rubbish from the archives’, which is funny to this reviewer who remembers Evil Scarecrow performing the first album back in the day. Enter stage left a ghost-like figure and a witch's head hanging from a rod from the right for “Polterghost”.
Dr Hell stops the gig with a vague attempt to quiet the crowd whilst a romantic proposal takes place on the balcony, I did try to steal a look but didn;t have a very good view of the event, but nevertheless, it looked like a ‘yes’ - congratulations to them! In the joy of the event, we celebrated a cyclops and a gypsy dancing together throughout ‘Dance of the Cyclops’.
What happened next was simply superb, enter stage left, THE KRAKHEN! On either side of the stage, two massive tentacles appeared with a huge hen with glowing eyes for the second of the latest songs, ‘The Release the Krakhen’. At the end of the song, Dr Hell begins chants of “eggs!” from left to right, then front to back before more singing about the boat, eagerly assisted by the audience.
With some sort of order, we returned to a classic of “Blacken the Everything” before the chaos of mixing a hurricane with a tornado, “Hurricanado”. The crowd stuck their right fists in the air and spun around on the spot like mini hurricanes. I would like to think that if this was your first Evil Scarecrow encounter, it certainly wouldn;t be your last!
As the band left the stage, the break did not last very long with the ongoing demands of “two more songs” from the eager audience. The encore commenced with “Ballard of Brother Pain”, from Chapter IV: Antartarctica about the former guitarist, Brother Pain (shock!).
The finale had to be he incredible, “Crabulon”, a firm fan fave which saw the ‘Crabulon’ character parading behind the band with the audience displaying claw-like hands in a tribute to their Crabulon overlord. When it came time to scuttle, for health and safety reasons of being on a boat we could only scuttle in a random order instead of “scuttling left then scuttling right” for the fear of something terrible happening to the fate of the boat.
Tonight was immense, full of classic tracks, audience participation and the look of sheer elation on the faces of the gig goers that had congregated, on a boat to witness a band that will no doubt continue to amaze, amuse and entertain with their colourful set full of bonus surprises. Long may the madness continue….
Review by Pete Jones