Montagues and Capulets @ Open

Indie kids Montagues and Capulets could hardly have hoped for a more well-wishing crowd, this Norwich-formed foursome nearly packing the place out with a good natured bunch before whom they can play out their light, spangly tunes. It's an eager audience, receptive and responsive, but then there's me somewhere in there wondering, firstly, whether I've tumbled unwittingly into 2005 (someone's double denim and the fact that I'm not struggling to see out from under a red fringe reassures me that this hasn't actually happened) and, secondly, if I'm missing something when the applause erupts and I'm left cold by whatever has just gone down.Beforehand we've had the raw but promising Black Shuk followed by King Blood who, really, play some pretty great stuff to a room that has neither the patience nor the appetite for it. The Capulets rock up with a nice amount of young talent and, don't get me wrong, they are decent. There's solid riffs aplenty, some nice touches, and they get through the whole thing unscathed by error. It's just that for something live there is a distinct lack of dynamism. Most things are sitting happily on one nonchalant level. Maybe this is what the guys are going for but too often I feel I'm waiting for something interesting to happen on stage - both musically and physically - and just when it seems like we're going to hit some kind of height it all simmers down to the sound of safety set to a 4/4 beat. Part of me thinks maybe it's just that this brand of noise doesn't lend itself to making many of those 'fuck yeah!' moments but then they pull out a track like Blame It On The Kids or, to an extent, Isla, that feels fuller and puts a bit of bite into singer Nathan Baverstock's delivery and you just know that they have it in them do more. Once Montagues and Capulets manage to make a convincing leap from just playing to outright performing then we'll have something more substantial on our hands from this growing young band.