Dallas Crane, The Trafalgars @ The Grace Emily Hotel, Adelaide 11/10/2025
Hot damn! This was seriously good and another one of those gigs that people will be talking about when they say did you see Dallas Crane leaving The Grace Emily Hotel a smouldering wreck after a massive night of classic bonafide pub rock? We always have known the full might of Dallas Crane and this only reaffirmed that fact.
Adelaide trio The Trafalgars were the perfect openers getting things off to a scintillating start. Highly regarded but much underrated. Even now I’m still baffled as to why this band isn’t bigger than they are now because they have plenty of the right stuff. Their set was loaded with some choice cuts from new album About Time (and twenty years in the making) kicking off with Live In A Dream and Come On. If you want a new album to buy this is the one. Come On, Company Time and Girl from it were sensational. There was a flash back to 2005 with London Taxi which was followed by a new tune Where The Good Teams Fly inspired by a football analogy. Queen cover Tie Your Mother Down was a pleasant surprise ending on a new tune Into The Fire from their forthcoming album due next year or as Rhys pointed “maybe twenty years away.”
The stage was warmed for Dallas Crane to make a barnstorming return to Adelaide literally tearing The Grace Emily a new one. These are the gigs designed for ear plugs. Hells bells it was loud and rockin’. With fans packed in tight trying to catch a glimpse of these hard working rockers it was hard not to be impressed with the way they go about it. Weaving their way through the crowd front man Dave Larkin jokingly said they’ll start with a ballad ripping through The Sunnyside. Seriously, this was an hour of power and like a freight train there was no stopping the mighty Dallas Crane charging through Wrong Party and Can’t Work You Out. It was pub rock anthems at their very finest. New single Trouble Knows My Name was an absolute ball tearer returning to the ultra familiar Sold Me.
Unlucky Star proved popular with the band taking requests and unfortunately Sweet Caroline was denied! WTF! There was a healthy lither of Television’s Marque Moon setting things up for a procession of classics including the crowd voted Iodine, No Through Road and a ripping version of Led Zeppelin’s Rock ‘n Roll. Simply incredible! Dallas Crane well and truly brought the heat. That wasn’t it either with the likes of Ladybird, Lovers and Sinners and Sycamore Street to finish their main set.
Even with the looming curfew fast approaching that wasn’t going to stop Dallas Crane finishing off in a blaze of glory. Larkin proclaimed that “Dallas Crane are the people’s band” and with a “big last quarter” pulled out a few more tricks with Sit On My Knee and Dirty Hearts. Finishing in epic fashion with an AC/DC cover given the Dallas Crane touch up with Let There Be Rock. Riffs ahoy! This my friends is going to take some topping!
Live Review By Rob Lyon