Vol. 114
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Skinny Lister
Norwich Arts Centre
Saturday 6th December 2025
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SKINNY LISTER – NORWICH – LIVE REVIEW
📷Denis Gorbatov
It’s December, everything is festive, and Norwich folk in search of merriment need look no further than the Arts Centre because you can forget about the big red man for now – Skinny Lister are coming to town!
Word is obviously out because this fantastic former church is fully sold out and everyone packs in early to receive the everlasting gift of live music.
CLAUDIA KATE
Opening the show this evening is singer-songwriter Claudia Kate who claims this as a hometown show given her roots in the area. With her genuine charm and insightful tunes Kate is quickly able to endear herself to the townsfolk of Norwich.
With the audience onside, the likes of ‘Fat’ and ‘Stop the World’ are able to elicit real emotion in the room before ‘BIG TALK, little girl’ and set closer ‘Angry At Me’ stir even more belief. Kate sings of the personal and the political in a way that understands that they are often the same thing.
There is a wisdom and maturity in Kate’s songwriting which creates an air of confidence in her message and importantly in her talents. The reception provided by the audience tonight only backs that up.
VANDOLIERS
Main support for this tour comes from Texan country punks Vandoliers, who burst onto the stage with a passionate onslaught of their highly contagious musical blend. Punk attitude and country swagger merge into something uniquely engaging and from the first chords of ‘Life Behind Bars’ onwards their set is a blissful blur.
The six-piece are lively, and the songs are singalong inducing… so they fit in very well supporting Skinny Lister. The fans in the venue, many clearly already familiar with Vandoliers, all clearly think so too, and the atmosphere tonight just continues to grow in togetherness.
Frontwoman Jenni Rose is able to harness the good feelings in the venue to orchestrate their performance through a career-spanning set of enjoyable alt-country fusion. Rose then brings their set home by leading the audience through a big old sing-song – ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’.
SKINNY LISTER
The changeovers are all pretty swift this evening and that ensures that the spirit of merriment never wanes during the show. The arrival of Skinny Lister is therefore met with much joy, and the chaos quickly ensues with ‘Wanted’ and ‘Set Us Straight’.
Whether romping through punkier tracks like ‘Tragedy In A Minor’ or serenading us with softer singalongs ala ‘Colours’, Skinny Lister have the audience in the palm of their hands every step of the way.
Even with an aborted passage of the flagon during ‘Drinking Song’, the audience are still made to feel a part of the show. Singer Lorna Thomas steps into the crowd for a series of arm wrestling contests during ‘Arm Wrestling in Dresden’ and frontman Dan Heptinstall barters with the crowd for requests leading to a beautiful rendition of ‘Embers’.
Skinny Lister really do have an enate knack for making a sold out concert feel more like a close family gathering. A particularly drunken one where everyone has the best time and ends up singing arm-in-arm to their favourite songs.
Well, that’s how tonight ends anyway with Claudia Kate and Vandoliers joining in on final song, ‘Six Whiskies’, and the entire venue simply living their best lives. That’s the power of Skinny Lister and as you leave the venue and head out into the festive displays of the city you can’t help but reflect on what a magical evening that just was!
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Vol. 113
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Lacuna Coil
Epic Studios, Norwich
Sunday 23rd November 2025
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📸Denis Gorbatov
LACUNA COIL – NORWICH – LIVE REVIEW
Back in February, Italian metal favourites Lacuna Coil released their tenth studio album ‘Sleepless Empire’. Now as the year reaches its climax, UK fans are able to hear this songs come to life on stage.
The bands UK tour kickstarted in Southampton following a European run and tonight they arrive in a wet and dreary Norwich. Playing host is Epic Studios which continues to impress as a modern and spacious venue.
NONPOINT
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The show is a sell out and the venue is already full as our special guests Nonpoint hit the stage. The Floridians made their mark in the early 2000’s and are also ten albums deep into their career.
The group are given a solid forty-five minutes to play with and deliver a good account of their catalogue of songs for those in the audience that are already familiar. The delivery of those songs is as passionate as ever from a band who clearly just love doing what they do.
What they do this evening is bring sunshine state vibes to autumnal Norfolk! Their heavy groove is enticing enough to get the fans warmed up and the likes of ‘In the Air Tonight’ and set closer ‘Bullet With a Name’ limber up some voices also.
Frontman Elias Soriano repeats a few times that the band will return to the UK next year and with the ongoing resurgence of love for the nu-metal era, Nonpoint once again seem to have a point to prove!
LACUNA COIL
Soon enough the lights go down again and it’s our headliners Lacuna Coil who are warmly welcomed to the well-prepared stage. With the venues dexterousness allowing bands to utilise the built-in video screens, Lacuna Coil embrace the opportunity with some really stunning visuals.
As with every show at Epic Studios, this is a nice addition that adds extra layers to the performance. But… it is very much the performance itself from the band that is so engaging this evening.
Again, you can tell the band enjoy performing and that makes a real positive difference. Watching vocalists Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia intertwining is mesmerising and is central to the uniqueness of the band. Equally however the fun being had by the other three members as they stalk the stage is just as noteworthy.
The key feature of the show tonight though is ‘Sleepless Empire’ itself with eight of the records eleven tracks aired. In a nineteen song setlist that represents 42% of the set and is truly an enormous vote of confidence in the album considering the vast range of material now in their arsenal.
This faith is well placed as the album is superb, and those sentiments are echoed by the responses to these tracks this evening. In particular ‘Gravity’ and ‘Oxygen’ are standout moments in the show tonight and ‘Never Dawn’ is given the prestige of the final song of the evening.
Whilst there is a good mix of tracks presented from the rest of their albums, it is ‘Sleepless Empire’ that shines tonight. This is clearly a good time to catch the band with fresh and exciting material and an experienced live capability combining to great effect.
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Vol. 108
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Pale Waves
Waterfront, Norwich
Wednesday 22nd October 2025
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pale waves – norwich – live review
Twelve months ago, Pale Waves unveiled their fourth studio album ‘Smitten’ – an album which explored singer Heather Baron-Gracie’s romantic experiences following a revisit of her teenage diary.
The personal themes were reflected within the more intimate sound of the record and struck a chord with the groups increasingly dedicated fans. The tour in support of the album was equally well received and now the band are back on the road with the ‘Still Smitten’ tour.
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EMMMA
Tonight finds the run of dates well underway as a wet and windy Norwich welcomes them to The Waterfront.
Support comes from EMMMA (“with three m’s so you can find me easier”) an alt-pop powerhouse who confidently grabs the audience and leads them through an enchanting set of emotional melodies.
EMMMA herself demonstrates the dexterity of multi-instrumental ability during her performance but it is her voice and presence that win over the audience this evening.
PALE WAVES
It’s then over to our headliners Pale Waves who start their own performance with two ‘Smitten’ tracks – ‘Perfume’ and ‘Not a Love Song’. Looking around the room, you can see the love that the audience have for the band as they seemingly hang off every lyric and every note.
The atmosphere soon kicks up a gear as fan favourites ‘Eighteen’, ‘Lies’ and ‘You’re So Vain’ follow on. The band are tight, and the performance is somehow both methodical and organic, with Baron-Gracie coming across as a real star.
Her aura manifests to a new plane during a hauntingly moving rendition of The Cranberries ‘Zombie’, which is a real highlight of the evening. ‘There’s a Honey’, ‘Change’ and ‘Red’ then ensure that the audience’s singing voices are well tested.
The main portion of the set flip-flops between older favourites ‘My Obsession’ and ‘Television Romance’, and ‘Smitten’ takes ‘Kiss Me Again’ and ‘Glasgow’.
The mix of the setlist this evening is pretty career spanning and gives the fans a power hour of engaging pop-punk glory. An encore of ‘She’s My Religion’ and ‘Jealousy’ is enough to send the crowd back out into the cold realities of the world.
Tonight has been a great escape from those realities and fans will be keen to escape again in the world of Pale Waves. Given the prolificacy of the band, you’d imagine they are already working on a follow-up but for now we’re still smitten!
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Vol. 107
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Newton Faulkner
The Waterfront, Norwich
Monday 13th October 2025
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NEWTON FAULKNER – NORWICH – LIVE REVIEW
Last month the incomparable Newton Faulkner shared his eighth studio album, ‘Octopus’, and now it’s time for him to take these new songs out on the road. Tonight, at The Waterfront in Norwich is the first date of a new headline tour from the virtuoso.
Much of Faulkner’s recent touring has seen him performing dual sets without any support, but tonight we have not one but two opening acts to get the diligent crowd warmed up.
MARIE NAFFAH
The first of which is London-based songwriter Marie Naffah who is accompanied this evening by her producer Robin Breeze on guitar. The duo are a gentle easement into the evenings festivities and they are able to use their undoubtable abilities to hypnotise the audience.
Their performance is full of songs about love and the likes of ‘For You’ and ‘Gloria’ ensure that their short time on stage is memorable. Naffah tonight is mesmeric with both her charm and her talent, much like an early days Mr. Faulkner.
NATI
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Next up on the stage is a redheaded alt-pop guitarist. Nope, not Newton but NATI., who brings a little bit of chaotic humour and the rousing songwriting of a modern day Newton Faulkner!
Two wise choices as support then and as with Naffah earlier, NATI. is able to very quickly engage the audience and soon has them singing and clapping along. Her brand of songwriting is a lot angrier than Naffah’s and the atmosphere in the venue accordingly ramps up a notch or two.
A fantastic cover of Alanis Morisette’s biting ‘You Oughta Know’, along with the likes of ‘JOAN’ and ‘5 More Minutes’ are delivered with refreshing candour. The sense that the audience wanted more of NATI. as she ends her set was palpable and that’s always a good sign.
NEWTON FAULKNER
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There isn’t long until Newton Faulkner takes the stage. There is little fanfare as Faulkner starts up his set. He isn’t the classic showman musician, but his charisma is ever enchanting. He ultimately lets his music do the talking, but he’s also pretty adept at entertaining the crowd with his wit and musings.
Our two support acts truly did represent and the yin and the yang of what makes Faulkner special and tonight he structures his setlist to gradually escalate in intensity. Starting off with the likes of ‘Gone in the Morning’, ‘Finger Tips’ and ‘I Need Something’, his much-loved cover of Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’ then marks an escalation in the set.
The middle section of the set brings more of Faulkner’s signature orchestration of audience participation and some more fan favourites including the obligatory singalong to ‘Dream Catch Me’.
Faulkner’s new album, ‘Octopus’ is his noisiest work yet and the set builds to a crescendo of new music. The final run seeing him deliver ‘You Make It Look So Easy’, ‘What Took You So Long’, ‘Alright Alright Alright’ and ‘Snakes & Ladders’.
The set ends with as little fanfare as it began, Faulkner simply thanking the crowd and that’s that. Tonight, hasn’t been a night of clichéd tropes though, it has been a great evening of organic entertainment centred around songwriters.
Indeed, all three performers have been a delight, and the uniquely talented Faulkner remains as absorbing as ever!
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Vol. 103
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Vol. 97
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