Molotov Jukebox @ Waterfront
Some of the most carefree dancing I've seen
Despite having won The Next Big Thing a while back, The Thinking Men open things to a sparse crowd. They don't let this get them down and tear things up in their trademark style, like a rockabilly Doors jamming with The Bad Seeds fronted by a mutant cross between Tom Waits and Mark Lanegan. This isn't the best I've seen 'em but, even so, The Thinking Men are one of our best live bands. By the end, those that are there are on their feet and rocking.
As the room fills, Eugene The Cat take to the stage. According to their publicity, they combine jazz, swing, electronica and glitch-hop. Whatever - with live drums, sax, guitar, two vocalists and electronics, the Austrians seem to be having a ball on stage and soon get a good proportion of the audience swinging.
At their best, there are hints of Soul II Soul and Deeelite but there are also (probably unintentional) hints of Aqua. (Remember Barbie Girl? Yeah, that Aqua.) They've got decent enough songs and they're good fun in a slightly daft, cartoony kinda way but produce some of the least convincing on-stage cussing I've ever heard. It’s not my thing but the rest of the audience enjoyed it. By this time next year, they'll have taken over the world. Possibly.
I got Tropical Gypsy kinda by mistake as I just liked the band's name but I've been wanting to see Molotov Jukebox live ever since. So, I had high expectations and, thankfully, MJ meet 'em with a cracking set of ska-tinged, salsa-inflected tropicalia.
I spend the whole set bouncing around and grinning like a loon. Even the melancholy songs have a joy to them. The band seems genuinely delighted and taken aback by the reception they are given and I can see why. Mixing songs from Tropical Gypsy and debut Carnival Flower, this is a crowd pleasing set that induces some of the hardest, most carefree dancing I've seen at a gig in Norwich. If the government really wants to tackle obesity, they'd be better off scrapping the sugar tax and making it compulsory to see Molotov Jukebox. Honestly, it is impossible to keep still, even for this resolute non-dancer.
Molotov Jukebox will be ripping up the stages at various festivals over the summer and will almost certainly go down a storm.
