The Wedding Present @ The Waterfront
The Boy Gedge's two bands play Norwich
Prodigious and prolific musician and songwriter David Gedge brought his latest incarnation of the band he originally formed in 1985 back to the Waterfront to an enthusiastic and loyal crowd, and their first Norwich gig since November 2013.
Playing an opening set as Cinerama, a band conceived in 1997 during a break from The Wedding Present and only genuinely existing as such until 2004 whence they re-assumed the WP moniker, Gedge now uses Cinerama as a fully fledged alternative act, even to the point of having just recorded and released a parallel version of the 2012 album, Valentino. Tonight he is resplendent, if looking a tad warm, in blue three piece suit and performs a one hour set that includes songs from the original Cinerama albums as well as re-worked versions of tracks from Valentino. The full cast of The Wedding Present are accompanied by Danielle and Melanie on keyboards, who also provide harmonies and backing vocals, and the resultant six-piece produce a textured melody-dominant set in the vein of Lightning Seeds or Terry Hall's Colourfield. Stand out tracks were Cat Girl Tights (from Torino) and the re-worked Girl From the DDR.
After a short break Gedge is back in jeans and shirt sleeves, minus the keyboard players, for a punchier, rock and rolling second half as The Wedding Present that features plenty of grungy guitar work, pulsating bass, and crashing cymbals as sticks hit skin with increased ferocity. This is not so much a different band (despite the tongue in cheek thanks to the openers) but an alternative performance. The songs, like Gazebo and You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends, could all equally be re-worked à la Cinerama – the melodies are strong enough to be delivered either way, but by the time we get to Kennedy and My Favourite Dress the audience just want to rock, and that's how it ends. No encore (Gedge has been on stage almost two hours and we are approaching curfew), but a real climax and treat for those who came out to acknowledge one of the defining bands of the last thirty years.
8/10
