Tag: Norwich Waterfront

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Slam Dunk Winter Jam

Slam Dunk Winter Jam

Waterfront, Norwich

Thursday 25th January 2024

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SLAM DUNK WINTER JAM – NORWICH – LIVE REVIEW

📸 (C) Denis Gorbatov / Full Pelt Music

January is always a touring wasteland, with most fans nursing festive hangovers and following a month of sobriety. This year however Slam Dunk have decided to kickstart 2024 and truly get the party started with their ‘Winter Jam’ Tour!

MILLIE MANDERS AND THE SHUTUP

Tonight the circus rolls into the Waterfront in Norwich and literally getting the party started are local favourites Millie Manders and the Shutup! The opening slot on a four band bill with doors as early as 18:30, may not usually be all that it’s cracked up to be. Manders and co though have absolutely no problem whatsoever in getting the crowd up to the desired level.

Manders and co have a strong following tonight and they make the most of their short opening set with the likes of ‘Rebound’ and ‘Bitter’ getting everyone dancing and singing along. ‘Bacchus’ encourages everyone to “have another drink”, and not being the only drink themed song of the evening probably ruins a fair few dry January’s!

The band are a force of fun-inducing nature and are the ideal band to open up a line-up such as this. Equally our next act [spunge] are well versed in getting a crowd to liven-up with their infectious pop-punk revelry.

[spunge]

Songs such as ‘Jump on Demand’ and ‘Skanking Song’ are built with a purpose and the Norwich crowd are more than happy to oblige this evening. When you throw in a cover of ‘Monkey Man’ and the bands signature song ‘Kicking Pigeons’, you get another super fun set from a band that can only be described as underground national treasures!

TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET

The bands selected by Slam Dunk for this tour are all regulars at the summer spectacular, except for the main support act Teenage Bottlerocket. The group did play this past summer but they are a much rarer prospect for UK fans and the good folk of Norwich certainly seem appreciative of the chance to bang their heads to their intense punk rockers.

As expected, the pace is unrelenting throughout their time on stage and people’s ear drums may take a little while to recover. That’s down to the pure velocity of their sonic onslaught which is rough, ready and able to hypnotise a punk from 1000 metres!

ZEBRAHEAD

The changeovers are relatively quick tonight which doesn’t allow much respite for the audience, but that also means that the four band bill breezes by. Three fun sets down already, and the crowd are ready for their pop punk heroes Zebrahead to bring proceedings to a close.

The group are more than capable of topping a line-up such as this and more than prepared to deliver the knockout blow that will destroy any remaining festive hangovers. They kick off their set with ‘When Both Sides Suck, We’re All Winners’, ‘No Tomorrow’ and ‘Hello Tomorrow’ which sets their pace early on.

Again, as expected, because you know what you are going to get on the Slam Dunk Winter Jam, that pace never really drops. There is no lethargy in the crowd and their hour or so on the Waterfront stage is a joyous celebration of both Zebrahead and the pop punk movement. Whilst the genre may be maligned by certain sections of the musical elite – a night like this will always produce a fun evening of frivolity!

An encore of ‘All My Friends Are Nobodies’ and ‘Falling Apart’ is the perfect cherry on top of the pop punk cake. Tonight that four-tiered cake has been tasty as hell and Slam Dunk have perhaps baked something up which could become as traditional as dry January!

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The Xcerts

The Xcerts

Waterfront Studio, Norwich

Saturday 7th October 2023

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THE XCERTS – NORWICH – LIVE REVIEW

📸 (c) Denis Gorbatov / Full Pelt Music

As singer Murray Macleod jokes onstage tonight, it is easy to forget just how long The Xcerts have been around. The origins of the band date back over two decades already, although their debut album arrived back in 2009. It’s in recent years though that the band have truly threatened to breakthrough.

The trio do have a cult following in place as is evidenced by the fact that their queue for the venue tonight is much larger than that of The Sherlocks who are playing in the larger room at the same time.

snake eyes

Fans filing in early to the Waterfront Studio in Norwich tonight are first treated to a fantastic opening set from Brighton’s snake eyes. Another trio, the band echo the grittier side of The Xcerts sound and are able to win over the audience with relative ease.

The band put out latest EP, ‘health’, earlier this year and the likes of ‘crybaby’ and ‘medicine’ from the release sound great tonight as does latest single, ‘lean’. The group have certainly shown growth on record and this evening they are able to showcase themselves well live also. They most definitely are on that proverbial ‘ones to watch’ list!

THE XCERTS

The Xcerts have probably been on that list for all of their career at this point and the untapped potential is still clear for all to see. 2018’s ‘Hold On to Your Heart’ was a magnificent album which demonstrated the sheer brilliance of the bands songwriting. If there was any justice in the world, then that album would have jettisoned The Xcerts into the mainstream.

Five years on and the band have followed that album up with a sonically expansive collection entitled ‘Learning How to Live and Let Go’. The graceful ferocity of the album is put at the forefront tonight as the band open their set with ‘GIMME’.

Naturally new music is front and centre in the setlist tonight, but with five albums out in the world, there is a nice selection on offer from across the bands releases. It’s a good sign though that the audience seem to sing new tracks like ‘Ache’, ‘Jealousy’ and ‘Lovesick’ with equal levels of passion as favourites such as ‘Aberdeen 1987’ and ‘Slackerpop’.

The back catalogue of the band is mightily impressive at this point, but you also sense that there is plenty to come. The Xcerts uniquely find themselves with considerable experience whilst still being young enough to have their best years ahead of them.

On the evidence of tonight they certainly have the live side of things perfected and they have a divine talent for creating a real connection with their audience. You therefore leave the venue into the unseasonal October warmth acknowledging how phenomenal a band The Xcerts are whilst pondering just how great they can still be!

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The Full Pelt Music Podcast – Episode 33 – The Xcerts

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Nova Twins

Nova Twins

Waterfront, Norwich

Friday 17th February 2023

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NOVA TWINS – NORWICH – LIVE REVIEW

Tonight is a sell out and anticipation is high for one of rocks brightest prospects as Nova Twins commence their UK Tour at the Waterfront in Norwich! This was already a hot ticket, but the added attention the band received at the Brits recently has raised the bar further.

Entering the venue, you know full well that this will likely be the last time Nova Twins are playing venues this small. A rocket has been strapped to their backs and rightly so, because they fitted it themselves. Everything coming their way has come from their own DIY ethics, their own creativity and their own natural talents.

Fittingly, the band has selected two more acts that fit that bill to open on this tour. Up first are Uninvited, who on their showing tonight will be invited to many more shows in the future. Not previously on our radar, they very much are now after an assured and intense opening set. Quickly winning the packed crowd over with their blistering pace, keep an eye on this band, we certainly will be!

Next up are a band further down their career path as it were. Opening slots with My Chemical Romance last summer may have placed Witch Fever on many people’s maps, but the group has been making a noise for a little while now with a steady stream of increasingly impressive singles.

Tonight, they are clearly playing to a crowd in the know and that creates a fantastic atmosphere as the band demonstrate the raw power that has been the base of their early work. The likes of ‘Bloodlust’, ‘Congregation’ and ‘Blessed Be Thy’ sound absolutely massive in this relatively small venue and you again would expect Witch Fever to be moving on to headlining these sized rooms in the near future.

WATCH ‘CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER’ ON YOUTUBE
Nova Twins – ‘Choose Your Fighter’

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Nova Twins have quickly established themselves on the scene through two very well received albums and a string of support slots and festival appearances. Having caught them play a number of these shorter sets, our main question tonight is how do the band translate over a full headline set. The answer, as was expected, is very well indeed!

Starting off with the likes of ‘Fire & Ice’ and ‘Cleopatra’, the band quickly asserts their ferocious energy on the stage. Audience participation comes naturally and at times it feels like the band and audience are in fact one with each other.

The likes of ‘Taxi’ and ‘Play Fair’ still go hard and the likes of ‘Sleep Paralysis’ simply leave you in awe of the majesty emanating from the stage. Even we opened this review by calling Nova Twins prospects, but that isn’t the case, no, this band are the present and they are ready to take over the world!

An encore of ‘Antagonist’, ‘Undertaker’ and ‘Choose Your Fighter’ is just the cherry on top of the cake. Tonight has shown the sheer quality of new rock acts out there at the moment, with all three bands clearly set for bigger things.  

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Live Reviews

Pulled Apart By Horses

Pulled Apart By Horses

Waterfront Studio, Norwich

Saturday 15th October 2022

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PULLED APART BY HORSES – NORWICH – LIVE REVIEW

All 📸 (c) Denis Gorbatov / Full Pelt Music

Perennial contenders Pulled Apart By Horses have just released the fifth studio album of their near fifteen year career. ‘Reality Cheques’ features a more streamlined sound and tonight in Norwich we get to see how that translates on stage.

MAGNOLIA PHOTOS

Opening the early evening show at the Waterfront Studio are local newcomers Magnolia. It’s difficult to find much about the band online and even harder to pigeonhole them into any genre.

Describing themselves as psychedelic post-punk, there are certainly elements of those genres present in amongst their experimental sound. There are also many others as killer riffs segue into moments of pure randomness. There are times of brilliance and times of dreadfulness in their short set. Only a young act, there is something here, I’m just not sure what it is yet!

THE HOWLERS PHOTOS

Next up are a band clearly further along their discovery path. Londoners The Howlers recently released new EP, ‘Further Down the Line’ and songs from that record are highlights tonight.

The group own the stage like they are industry veterans and the crowd are left in awe of a top quality support slot. These are the shows where newer acts can win new fans and build their audiences and the likes of ‘The Boy I Was Before’ and ‘El Dorado’ will have done some excellent building work tonight.

PULLED APART BY HORSES PHOTOS

Finally, our headliners Pulled Apart By Horses take to the stage and from the first angry guitar strum the intimate audience are raucous! To say that both band and crowd are up for it tonight would be an understatement and that makes for a fantastic atmosphere on this Saturday night.

New album, ‘Reality Cheques’, naturally features heavily in the set list for Pulled Apart By Horses and as they open with ‘Pipe Dream’ and ‘First World Problems’ it’s clear that the album passes the live test. The new songs sound massive as do older tracks such as ‘The Haze’ and ‘The Big What If’.

During a cost of living crisis, small shows such as this are superb value for money and our headliners deliver an energetic and engaged display from start to finish – something often found lacking with arena shows.

As Pulled Apart By Horses close their set with fan favourites ‘V.E.N.O.M.’, ‘I Punched A Lion In The Throat’ and ‘High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive’, they reaffirm themselves a standout live act and rubberstamp the fact that five albums in they remain a creative force.

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October Drift

October Drift

Waterfront Studio, Norwich

Monday 4th April 2022

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OCTOBER DRIFT – NORWICH – LIVE REVIEW

All 📸 (c) Denis Gorbatov / Full Pelt Music

Let’s talk about discovery. It’s always a great feeling when you discover something new that you enjoy, and that is particularly true when it comes to music. Discovering a new song, a new album or a new band to enjoy is one of life’s great pleasures for music lovers.

That is why we created our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist on Spotify! To help music fans find that new song or artist to really sink their teeth into. Now, October Drift was a familiar name to us from featuring on many a festival poster or recommendation over the years. For some reason however they always seemed to get placed on that ‘to do list’ of acts.

That was until recently when we added their recent single, ‘Airborne Panic Attack’, to our Playlist and a deep dive ensued. So, now it’s the long overdue time to catch the band live!

Listen to ‘Airborne Panic Attack’ on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist

THE HIGH POINTS

With that said we arrive at The Waterfront Studio in Norwich and are greeted by opening act, The High Points. Slightly off-piste from our headline act, the locals add a little funk to proceedings as they get the early attendees warmed up. Finishing their set with two broken strings, the band display great endurance to go with their obvious musical talent.

CHINA BEARS

Our main support act, China Bears, then demonstrate just why it’s important in our journey of discovery to arrive early and watch the supports. The five-piece deliver a sublime set that continues to gain traction until the finale, ‘Sunday’, literally leaves the crowd asking for more.

OCTOBER DRIFT

Not long thereafter though it’s time for our headliners, October Drift, to hit the stage and reinforce just why we felt that excitement when first listening to them. The band absolutely own the stage tonight and their energy levels are infectious as band and crowd bounce in unison.

There is a good mix of older material and new tracks in the setlist tonight and the bands time on stage flies by. That age old adage of time flying when having fun certainly springs to mind, and fun is probably an apt word for this evening; both band and audience seemingly having plenty.

‘Cherry Red’, ‘Oh the Silence’ and ‘Come and Find Me’ are all fantastic tonight, but new track ‘Insects’ in particular sounds huge. The delightful finale of ‘Like the Snow we Fall’ being performed from within the crowd is just the sort of epiphany inducing moment that hammers home our point.

Discovery is a wonderful thing. So, head to shows early, check out the smaller stages at festivals and of course listen to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist. As for October Drift, on tonight’s showing and with their second album on the horizon, the future certainly looks bright.

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Live Reviews

VUKOVI

Waterfront Studio, Norwich

Tuesday 12th October 2021

VUKOVI

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Have you ever left a show with that euphoric feeling, knowing that you’ve just witnessed one of those special life-affirming shows that remind you why you love live music? SPOILER ALERT: this was one of those shows!

Let’s unpack the evening from the beginning then shall we? It’s cold, winter as they say is coming, but that means gig season is in full flow. The venue for the evening is the Waterfront Studio in Norwich, which is a great little room above the main venue and regularly plays host to these extra special intimate shows.

Tonight is sold out with roughly 200 eager music fans in attendance for a bill set to feature 3 bands all with growing reputations and raring to get back out on the road after the pain of the past 18+ months. This show also happens to be the first night of the tour with the element of the unknown thrown in.

Read our review of Download Pilot Festival

First on stage is a band that has been honing their craft for a few years now and appear ready to push on to the next level, Delaire the Liar. They are fast, heavy and archaic and ensure that the crowd are warmed up suitably having been stood out in the cold a few minutes before.

Then it’s time to bring the riffs as Press To MECO arrive on stage for their first show with their new line-up. Trusted fan favourite ‘A Quick Fix’ kicks off an impactful set before the band bring their latest album, ‘Transmute’ to life on stage.

Read our review of ‘Transmute’ from Press To MECO

‘A Test of Our Resolve’ sounds absolutely massive live and deserves to see the band gracing much bigger stages in the future. The crowd are really up for it tonight and as the band close out their short but oh so sweet set with ‘Gold’ and ‘Sabotage’, everybody is left wanting more from the band.

Press To MECO were always a force to be reckoned with live and this new line-up appears to have taken them up another notch or two. So, at this point the evening is progressing extremely well and is already a great gig, but we said it was special didn’t we?

There is still one act left and that act is VUKOVI. From the moment the band take to the stage to the moment they leave, VUKOVI have the audience in the palm of their hands. There must be something in the air, because a cold Tuesday night in Norwich has no right to have a crowd so up for it.

Over the next hour or so the band blast out a set of fast-paced, highly moshable songs that can only really be described these days as bangers! The control of the stage exerted by singer Janine Shilstone is uncanny and helps to make that special atmosphere needed for this to become an elite level gig.

WATCH ‘HURT’ FROM VUKOVI ON YOUTUBE
VUKOVI – ‘HURT’

The likes of ‘C.L.A.U.D.I.A’, ‘HURT’, ‘Run/Hide’ and ‘La Di Da’ are incredible tonight but really it’s the whole set that stands out and ensures that fans are sent out back into the cold feeling warm inside.

All three bands brought it tonight and the audience reciprocated in kind. With this only being night one of the tour, do yourself a favour and grab a ticket to one of the shows, get down there early and savour three bands all proving that the future is bright for British rock music!

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Twin Atlantic

Norwich Waterfront

Wednesday 18th August 2021

Twin Atlantic Norwich Waterfront Live Review

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TWIN ATLANTIC – NORWICH WATERFRONT – LIVE REVIEW

It may be an overcast summers evening, but for tonight all is right with the world. That’s because there is a queue waiting outside The Waterfront, Norwich for the first time in around 18 months.

On offer this evening for the venues first main room show since the beginning of the pandemic is a special Music Venue Trust & National Lottery #ReviveLive show featuring Twin Atlantic!

There is a late change of support act for the evening with Lucia & The Best Boys unable to attend. Step up local band The Islas who recently featured on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist!

LISTEN TO OUR ‘DISCOVER’ NEW MUSIC PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY!

This is quite the result as The Islas deliver a great set to a receptive audience. With the likes of recent single ‘The Absence of You’ joining older tracks ‘Back of Your Neck’, ‘Aileen’ and ‘Close’ the band are building an impressive live set. And with performances such as tonight’s they will also be building an impressive fan base, with many in the venue won over.

Tonight, though is all about our headliners Twin Atlantic who just released a new single, ‘Bang On The Gong’, and what better way to kick off their set. If the band think their new track is well received, those in attendance continue to build their appreciation throughout the night.

We recently caught the band at the Download Pilot Festival so know that they are an incredible live act. But, put the band in a sweaty little venue with a full set and they are up there with the best.

Read our review of Download Pilot Festival

The rest of the setlist is a carefully crafted selection from across their albums with fan favourite ‘Free’ getting the lions share. The title track, ‘Make a Beast of Myself’, ‘Edit Me’, ‘Yes, I Was Drunk’ and an emotive ‘Crash Land’ sing-a-long showcase the albums quality.

There is quality across their catalogue however and ‘No Sleep’, ‘Hold On’, ‘Brothers & Sisters’ and ‘The Chaser’ all naturally receive big reactions from the crowd.

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Perhaps somewhat surprisingly though, some of the best tracks of the evening and most warmly welcomed come from their 2020 release ‘Power’. Coming weeks before the first lockdown, now represents the first real chance for the band to embed the tracks into their show.

The likes of ‘Volcano’, ‘Oh! Euphoria!’, ‘Novocaine’ and ‘Barcelona’ all slot in seamlessly as Twin Atlantic blow off the cobwebs and begin their latest era.

With their anthem ‘Heart and Soul’ seeing the night out, the fans are left to wander out into the now slightly chilly Norwich night. As they do so they will be reflecting on the return of live music, and also on just how great a live band Twin Atlantic have become!

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