Augustines @ The Waterfront
"An arena performance but with the intimacy of a private audience"
Three years after their amazing Latitude debut deep in the woods Billy McArthur brings his band back to East Anglia to play Norwich's Waterfront. In that time they have re-claimed their original name (having been able to drop the 'We Are'), released the follow up to the 2011 Rise Ye Sunken Ships, and have a third album almost ready to drop. Next week they play a sold-out night at London's Scala before heading off to Germany.
Heavy traffic in the area for the football friendly against West Ham means that the venue is still filling up as Pontefract four-piece Glass Caves take stage for a thirty minute set of amiable Cribs-like swagger. Overcoats are worn in stubborn Yorkshire defiance, although the drummer (with the most amazing hair since Leo Sayer) has opted for leather jacket. New song Afraid still needs work, but the rest of the numbers carry well. It would be nice to see these guys back in Norwich at some point.
Only when Augustines plug in and strike up does the contrast hit like a kick in the stomach. Billy McArthur is a big bear of a man, imposing on an arena stage, let alone standing three feet away at The Waterfront. When he hits the reverb, powers the riffs and wrestles the feedback we are almost sent reeling backwards. The voice growls, groans and pleads in equal alternating measures as we lurch from arms-in-the-air anthems to tortured baring of the soul. It is all held together by the engine-room drumming of Rob Allen and the keyboards and bass of Eric Sanderson.
Stand out tracks are Chapel Song and Philadelphia (City of Brotherly Love), but this was a performance so much more than just a set list. We absorb the energy and the sweat that drips off McArthur's beard, showering the front row as he shakes his head under the heat of the lights. We learn of his love for Colman's mustard, and get invited to go for 'Tuesday whiskeys' at the end of the show. This is an arena performance but with the intimacy of a private audience. After three songs with guitar tech Alec taking over on bass, the main set is over, leaving us baying for an encore. The trio return, and we end our evening singing along to the wonderful Cruel City.
You certainly are, and always will be, 'Augustines'.
9/10
