The Orielles + Peaness + Gladboy
Opening with local psych kraut-pop-rockers Gladboy, the early evening appeared to be set up to be a memorable one! Opting for a heavier set for their downstairs debut, Gladboy started with Sauer Kraut, followed by Egopushin’ and a few new motorik inspired tracks. Wedding Band seemed to have more wailing than normal, resulting in a fantastic evocation of Neu!’s Hero. Altogether a great set even if performed in front of a relatively empty Waterfront. Seeing Gladboy was well worth the early dinner.
Peaness seemed to be going for a sort-of pop-punk, grungy sound. They showed some real charisma and spirit throughout, bassist Jess had a permanent smile on her face for the whole set. They filled the gaps in between tracks with some slightly stiff, but nonetheless charming on-stage banter. They finished with Kaizen, which was by-far the best track they did. A bit reminiscent of some stuff Lush might have written. If they keep it up with more like that, they’ll do very well.
By now the venue was quite packed, not quite sell-out packed, but pretty close. The crowd was as diverse as ever, perhaps leaning a bit more on the older side.
The highlights for The Orielles were definitely at the tail-end of the evening. The best crowd response came during the final track, Sugar Tastes Like Salt (a small pogo pit opening up). While it is tempting to place the blame on Norwich, recently the crowds have been just as welcoming, if not more, as some of the shows at bigger venues elsewhere. This time Norwich stayed relatively calm, quiet Friday perhaps?
The sound was a bit of a let-down. Gladboy sounded better, you were able to really hear each instrument, even Alex’s synth, which has at previous shows felt drowned out. With The Orielles the bass came out lacking much clarity, being more of a wall than having a discernible rhythmic bite. It’s unfortunate as The Orielles exceed when they bang out their dance hits, but the slick grooving basslines were completely lost in the mix. Despite this difficulty, it was still a great evening. Perhaps not the best gig of the week, but still up there. After riffing on Sugar Tastes Like Salt for ten minutes they finished cleanly, thanked the crowd and headed off without an encore (far more favourable)!
