Pony Up! feat Menace Beach
Mega bands at NAC
Pony Up: Menace Beach, SuperGlu, Teen Brains – Norwich Arts Centre 20/03/15
I was at Norwich Arts Centre as a punter on Friday night. It was the day after pay day, there were three bands playing for £3 and it was the perfect excuse to catch up with a couple of mates, have a few brews and check out some up-and-coming bands. The fact that the night was so enjoyable has compelled me to write a review.
First up were Lowestoft four piece Teen Brains, who I had seen play their debut gig at last year’s Sound & Vision Festival and already they have made big strides in their live performance. They have got their 90’s indie schtick down pat, channelling the sound of dozens of bands that have gone before (Ride, House Of Love, Catherine Wheel) but doing so convincingly and playing it to an audience too young to have been there first time around. They have written a great song in ‘Annabelle’ and by the sound of this set they have a handful of other decent tunes as well. I can only see them improving the more gigs they play, the more songs they write.
Next up was SuperGlu, a new band who, in Facebook terms at least, formed less than two months ago. Ridiculous. They feature Ben Brown on vocals, who is also the main man in Dingus Khan. Ben won me over when his band charmed a sparsely populated Arts Centre a few years back when they supported Second Division punk act The Vibrators. I had quite high hopes for his latest project which they easily exceeded, delivering a hook laden set of punk pop. This was much more than just Ben’s side project though - Ben’s bass playing girlfriend added some great lead and backing vocal and the second guitarist and drummer more than played their part. ‘Diving Bell’ has already had play on Radio 1 and is the song I’ve spent most of the weekend humming to myself. They departed the stage to a genuinely raucous response and it’s no exaggeration to say there was a scrum at the merch table immediately after their set. This was only their sixth gig (ridiculous!), their first outside of Colchester apparently, making it presumably the best sixth gig I have seen by any band, ever. For a moment I was struck with the thought that Ben was channelling Noddy Holder and I can pay him no greater compliment so impressive is his voice and confidence on stage. Fucking ridiculous.
Finally it was headliners Menace Beach. Having released their debut Ratking album earlier this year, in terms of this bill at least, they were the most experienced act of the night. Their brand of 90‘s influenced (again) noise pop was certainly the slickest and most professional of the three bands and went down really well with the good sized crowd, with lots of dancing going on down the front. I enjoyed them too, but for me their set didn’t have enough stand out songs. I was also involved in a robust conversation with one of my mates, who is a local musician, who was questioning the validity of such a musically backwards looking night, asking me if I would actually spend money buying music by any of the bands I’d seen.
So, to quantify my thoughts. Would I personally buy any of the music by any of the three bands I saw on Friday? Maybe not, but I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye on SuperGlu. Would I have gone if the tickets hadn’t been so cheap? No. However, did I have a really good night watching three bands who all entertained me? Hell yes I did. I will no doubt see Teen Brains play again on a local bill and I would certainly make the effort to see them play for a third time. SuperGlu impressed me the most and I will certainly be seeing those guys again on their next trip to Norwich, and I bought their t-shirt – it was only £4. Ridiculous! Menace Beach I probably won’t see again but make no mistake they don’t need me, they were by far the most popular band of the night with the audience.
Well done Rosie and Pony Up for putting on such a great night, with a genuine buzz of excitement in the air. The sound was great, the simple lighting was really effective and if the whole thing reminded me of some of those classic Wilde Club nights of the 90’s when I saw bands like These Animal Men, SMASH, Echobelly, Compulsion, Shed Seven, Cornershop etc creating their own scene, then that’s just because I’m an old git who’s seen it all before.
@StuPres
