Music > Live Reviews
The Wytches
The Adrian Flux Waterfront
05/04/17
I’m sorry that I missed the opening 10 minutes of Norwich band We’ll Be Detectives, because the 20 minutes I did see were very impressive. Wearing their Nirvana influences firmly on their sleeves, they produced a really loud and energetic start to the night and drew a number of people up from the bar. Not exactly original but if bands like Tigercub and VANT are going places there is no reason at all why We’ll Be Detectives can’t as well.
Next up were Leeds based Weirds, a band currently making waves, with a debut album on the way. Things started promisingly during the first track, the keyboard playing frontman giving off a great air of not-giving-a-fuck nonchalance, while around him the band threw themselves into it. The Norwich crowd were hesitant at first, obviously, but as people were encouraged to edge forward the reaction grew. What did I think? Largely unmoved and underwhelmed I’m afraid. The more bluster, the more they tried, the less I felt it worked. I really wish they’d made me believe they didn’t care what we thought, but it felt like they cared too much. By the end of the set the singer was in the crowd, climbing onto the bar at the back of the room and it felt staged and not in the least bit spontaneous. None of the danger that is in the air when Bad Breeding’s Chris walks among us, none of the massive thrill when (another) Chris from Turbowolf is carried aloft, none of the high emotion when St. Paul leaves his Broken Bones and communes with us. A decent reception from those involved at the front, but just not for me. More Normals than Weirds.
The last time The Wytches visited Norwich was part of the 2014 Norwich Sound & Vision Festival. I made a point of squeezing in a good part of their set at Norwich Arts Centre in between the Radiophonic Workshop and Public Service Broadcasting down at Epic, and left very impressed. I’ve got a lot of time for both of their studio albums and was fairly confident that they were going to really impress me three years down the road. Did they? Although I’m in the minority I’m going to have to say no they did not. As soon as the second track Ghost House started it went OFF, fresh faced youth throwing themselves around, but I just couldn’t see what the fuss was about. I don’t think I’ve been to a gig where I felt such a disconnect from those around me; I literally couldn't understand what was causing such excitement, Maybe age is the problem – I’ve seen it all before, the majority of the audience haven’t and therefore have nothing to compare it to. I went with a couple of mates though, one and two decades younger than me, and all three of us were unaffected. I can’t even put my finger on what the problem was, the band played really well, their audience really loved them, the set covered all the songs I like off both albums, but something just didn’t click.
The most memorable part of the evening proved to be the two guys who spent most of the set searching the floor with their phone torches – one of them had lost a ring. Eventually, and with a minor stroke of luck from yours truly, the ring was found and everyone went mental! Even after being 'forced' to have far too much to drink by my associate Mr. Bad Influence, making me like a receptive sponge, the ring saga proved to be more memorable than most of the bands. Top marks therefore go to We’ll Be Detectives who delivered the best return compared to the level of expectation.