Music > Live Reviews

The Bohicas @ Norwich Arts Centre

07/10/15

I first heard the Bohicas’ glossy strand of garage rock through XFM at the end of 2013 and have been addicted ever since. In that time they’ve featured at international festivals, had their songs played on Radio 1 and released a brilliant debut album titled The Making Of. Experiencing their massive sound at a venue as intimate as Norwich Arts Centre was a must for me, and I was not let down.  

Support came from The Big Alabama and The Vitamins. The former, a two-piece from Diss, put on a raucous and charismatic show, with their grunge meets classic-rock sound, as much Royal Blood as it was T-Rex. Love the Night stood out as being particularly primal and audacious. The Vitamins were a let down, however. Ever wondered what a barbershop quartet would look like if one of the members died suddenly? The Vitamins is the answer, a band that must spend more time studying Alex Turner’s hair than rehearsing, if their 1950s rock n’ roll image was anything to go by. Truth be told, no amount of hair wax can smoothen their act. Despite being very tight, their vocals were poor and their lyrics lazy.

Simultaneously their debut Norwich show (excluding a brief appearance at the Radio 1 Academy in spring) and the opening night of their UK tour, no one truly knew what to expect, least of all the band themselves. But the first note of Upside Down and Inside Out let the cat out of the bag, instantly filling the room with zingy rock and roll glamour. Frontman Dominic McGuinness strode around the stage, rays of light bouncing wildly from his reflective guitar, leading his band mates in a forceful attack of frenzied riffs. The audience was slow to pick up but an obvious sense of excitement could be felt through the hazy darkness. From their self titled EP, Crush Me came next, as enticing and seductive as it is on record – “you’ve gotta crush me babe, grind me down, treat me like I don’t know how” McGuinness crooned whilst guitarist Dominic John and bassist Ady Acolatse added some dreamy back up vocals.

XXX was the set’s first peak. All four members looked desirably slick as they vigorously immersed the audience in the song’s shrill, scuzzy riffs and pacey rhythm, striding around the stage and making the room their own. The buzz heightened for the upbeat onslaught of Where You At. A brief respite came with I Do It For Your Love, foregrounding the band’s enormous sound, far ahead of their years for a band who only just released their debut LP (and a sign that big things are to come for definite).

Somehow You Know What I Mean brought a heavier quality to the show, as did Red Raw, with its bewitching vocal intro and greasy instrumentals. “We’ve got three more songs left”, announced McGuinness, to the obvious despair from the outspoken audience, but they were three songs well played. Bloodhound spurred the beginnings of a mosh pit which To Die For, a brash but phenomenally produced rock song (and one of my highlights) fuelled. The show lacked an encore – disappointing but typical for Arts Centre shows – and a few set list alterations should have been made; Girlfriend and Only You were missing, much to the agitation of a fairly intoxicated audience member. But all things considered, closing track Swarm more than made up for any mishaps. The gig ended fast and furiously, the Bohicas’ razor sharp signature sound carving a jagged B into the delicate flesh of Norwich’s music scene. Antonio Banderas style.