Since his ignominious departure from Asking Alexandria in January, Danny Worsnop has been pouring his blood, sweat and tears in to new effort We Are Harlot. What started as a side project are now the main event, and the classic rock orientated, multi nation 4 piece certainly are Harlot. Looking around, it is obvious that 95% of the crowd are here for Danny and Danny alone, but can We Are Harlot stand on their own merit? Well, we’re about to find out.
Opening the show are ‘more than merely a band’ September Mourning (7). With comics, extraneous plot lines and an extravagant look, September and co bring together the stage theatrics of In This Moment and the poptastic tunes of Lady Gaga. The LA quintet prove popular with most of the crowd, with the front 2 rows moshing enthusiastically. Like an all singing all dancing graphic novel September and co leave the stage with a bang. They make a real impression, and won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
It is important to remember that although Danny Worsnop is a household name, We Are Harlot (8) only released their debut album 3 months ago and have only played around 50 shows. As such a headline tour is an impressive feat, however it also means tonight’s setlist is exactly the same as the band’s set at Download Festival days before. Harlot have stripped rock and roll back to it’s roots, and are bona-fide rockstars. While the song choices are hardly anything earth-shattering, the gig is full of flamboyantly fun. Danny is the ultimate cocky rock and roll frontman, strutting across the stage with his scarf adorned mic stand, he effortlessly commands the attention of the room. Someone in the crowd hands him a saltire, which he adds to the other flags on his mic stand declaring “This is why we love playing Scotland”.
‘The One’ and ‘Dancing On Nails’ go down especially well and have the crowd bouncing around, and a cover of Queen’s ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ is a fun addition. Danny demonstrates the full range of his voice as it is equal parts rocky, bluesy and funky, and we can’t help but fall in love with its versatility. Danny announces that rather than leave the stage and return for an encore,because the layout of the Cathouse Harlot are going to just get on with it. Its a short but sweet show, with only 45minutes of material played but still gives us the full Harlot flavour.
We Are Harlot have all of the swagger of a band headlining stadiums, rather than performing at The Cathouse in front of a few hundred people. As we make our way out of the venue we are blocked by a queue to meet Danny and co, which winds all around the venue and down the stairs. The question remains, are We Are Harlot good enough to succeed after the shine of Danny Worsnop fades? Only time will tell.
Review by Lisa Fox
