Words and Photos: Charlie Wallis

So it’s finally here, after being pushed back at the last minute last time this show has come around and Alkaline Trio are playing to sold out crowd at The Waterfront in Norwich and the venue fills up quickly. It’s been often said that Alkaline Trio are one of those bands who, when on their game, are mind blowing to watch, but can all too easily slip into the realms of tedium. It will be interesting given postponements and the fact that this is nearing the end of the tour which side of the scale they’ll end up on tonight.

First band on tonight are moody Orange County rockers The Dear and Departed who are given the role of kicking the evening into gear. What’s noticeable about this band from the get go is the atmosphere they create is aided in a big way by the stage presence of kiwi lead singer Dan Smith who oozes charisma, falling somewhere in between Morrissey and AFI’s Davey Havoc. The band put on a strong showing but struggle to get much in the way of attention from the crowd which is starting the burgeon mercilessly which is something of a shame as they deserve far more of a reaction than they end up getting.

The Dear and the Departed

Second on is singer songwriter boy wonder Dave Hause who, despite the acoustic nature of his set manages to provoke something of a reaction from the crowd. It may be the sheer brass balls of opening for one of the biggest names in punk music on just your todd, but the audience respond incredibly positively to the one man show, especially when the one man turns into two as Alkaline Trio bassist Dan Andriano takes to the stage acoustic in tow for a couple of songs. One thing the set doesn’t do is provide much in the way of energy for the crowd to feed off and subsequently psyche themselves up for the top of the bill, leaving Alkaline Trio a mammoth of a task to try and get the whole crowd motivated.

Dave Hause

Now at the start of this review I said that Alkaline Trio trend one of two performances, but tonight that trend appears to have been bucked in the sense that it was bang in the middle. This tour marks the 15 year anniversary for Alkaline Trio and the effect of a decade and a half of doing this shows in more ways than one. Despite a set list comprised of the more obscure elements of Alkaline Trio’s back catalogue the sound is incredible. Matt Skibas voice is unparalleled in this kind of music and the sound is tighter than a nun’s chastity belt. It’s hard to argue that the evening felt lacking for a lack of favourites like “Private Eye” and “Stupid Kid” but what I missed more was the energy Alkaline Trio have been famous for. In between songs the band are extremely entertaining but in many respects much of the musical performance felt slightly rigid which could be down to any number of factors, an insufficiently warmed up crowd, the tour nearing it’s end e.t.c. but whatever the reason something of the magic was missing.

Alkaline Trio

I doubt Alkaline Trio will have lost any fans tonight and all in all it was a well executed, if a little lack lustre performance.

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Words and Photos: Emma Bowdidge

Lostprophets are back once again touring their new album ‘Weapons’ with support from dub/rock band Modestep. They’re both in Cambridge tonight playing the Corn Exchange in which Lostprophets included on their 2010 tour when they toured their last album ‘The Betrayed’ – Noise Addiction also had the pleasure to review them at that gig too.

Opening the evening up are London dubstep rockers Modestep. From the start the band are there to purely entertain and get the crowd pumped for the headliners. The first quarter of the venue from the stage were the most enthusiastic, bopping up and down and throwing their arms in the air in time with the bass of the songs. Stand out tracks from their set were remixes like ‘Levels [Skrillex Remix]‘, Cee Lo Green’s ‘Fuck You (Modestep Remix)’ and ever popular Rage Against The Machine ‘Killing In The Name Of’ cover. Modestep bring many of their own extremely catchy songs to the stage including ‘To The Stars’, new single ‘Show Me A Sign’ which saw the majority of the crowd holding up lighters and mobile phones as instructed by front man Josh Modestep and finished up with ‘Sunlight’, leaving the crowd some what exhausted and thrilled to hear a new style of band out there as one girl discussed with her friend- ‘I wouldn’t think about going to a dubstep show but I really enjoyed them and would watch again’.

Modestep

The anticipation steps up a gear in the Corn Exchange as the crowd fall slightly impaitent to Lostprophets kick starting their set tonight. The band soon approach the stage with drummer Luke Johnson taking his place first – The crowd by now are in a state of screams and cheers as vocalist Ian Watkins walks on stage lit up only by little green lasers attached to his waist band. He grabs the mic and starts off with ‘Weapons’ album opener ‘Bring ‘Em Down’. As mentioned earlier this is the second time Noise Addiction has had the pleasure of seeing the welsh 6-piece live and they’ve made a big step up with their light show tonight compared to the last time – They pretty much played in darkness. Every song is so clearly sung by Mr Watkins you can not fault their live performance one bit. The rest of the band are on top form as well! The majority of the songs are favourites with the crowd singing back every word or chorus of the song. They throw all the old favourite Lostprophet songs on to their set list ranging from their first album to their very new one ‘Weapons’. Stand out tracks for this reviewer are ‘Make A Move’, ‘Rooftops’, ‘Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja’ (Which is always a big favourite for me) and ‘We Bring An Aresnal’. The band end on ‘Burn Burn’ and head off stage..

Lostprophets

For an encore of course! The Corn Exchange by now are stamping their feet in the seated area above and the standing crowd are clapping and chanting for Lostprophets to do more. It takes a few different loud chants before they come back out for ‘Everyday Combat’ and ending the evenings events with ‘Sway’. It’s been one hell of a night in Cambridge tonight and Lostprophets have won the crowd over again with their astounding live performance.

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Words and Photos: Charlie Wallis

Last time Never Means Maybe played Norwich it was at this very venue in support of Exit Ten and Fei Comodo and they went down an absolute storm. Something about their showmanship and brand of emotional rock music really struck a chord with the local music fans and the night was a real success. This therefore is something of a second run at this city for Never Means Maybe. Unfortunately the turnout isn’t probably what the band were hoping for, perhaps because it’s a Monday night, so this evening was always going to be an uphill battle.

First band on tonight are local youngsters Let Us Proceed who put in a solid effort to convert the massing crowd to their sound which is has elements of Paramore, tinges of Enter Shikari mixed with beats and drop which goes down well. The band are clearly talented and lead singer Breesha Stanton has the potential to be vocally amazing. One area the band could develop is stage presence but as their set progresses and they get more confident this does come out and the band put on an entertaining performance.

Let Us Proceed

Second up are Lowestoft locals Nevacain who bring their energetic grunge sound the the stage. That bands music is tight and well executed with vocal harmonies and guitar solos being pulled off extremely well. Again, certainly initially, there’s something of a lack of stage presence which hinders the excitement from the audience somewhat. Similar the ‘Let Us Proceed’ this does improve as the set goes on, it would seem the more the audience responds to their catchy hooks and melodies, the more the band relaxes. ‘Nevacain’ have it within themselves to be brilliant and the music is there, just a tad more movement onstage and a greater connection with the audience could set them in good stead to be very successful.

Nevacain

From the first note they play The Perfect Crime raise the bar performance wise to a whole new level. It’s instantly evident that these guy have been doing this for years and are subsequently very good at what they do. Bassist Chris Roberts instantly sets to teaching a seminar on rocking out and lead singer Adam ‘Motey’ Mortaro is impressive as he stands and belts out every note of what ends up being a particularly dynamic setlist. The fast paced energetic alt rock stylings are juxtaposed perfectly with downbeat atmospheric numbers such as the beautifully epic “Luscinia”. This is only the second time in Norwich for The Perfect Crime, but I’d be surprised if they weren’t asked back again soon.

The Perfect Crime

As Never Means Maybe take to the stage, sadly much of the venue has cleared out, so much so that lead singer Renz Byrne is forced to ask “did we offend someone”. What I would say to those who left is the loss is theirs as ‘Never Means Maybe’ take the setback firmly in their stride and the vigour with which they play would lead you to presume they were playing to a packed venue with a far greater capacity. Ever with an empty venue the energy hits you like a sledgehammer with the band making the most of the time and (limited) space they’re afforded. The momentum is maintained throughout every song  with particular favourites being “…And That’s How Accidents Happen” and the frankly magnificent “Output: Listen”. As lead singers go, Byrne is about as charismatic as they some pitching himself somewhere between Gerrard Way and Chino Moreno but with better humour and particularly nice is the moment where members of the band jubilantly fling themselves into an emerging circle pit (perhaps to boost the numbers).

Never Means Maybe

From watching their set, a band like this deserves to be much bigger and hopefully word of mouth will mean numbers wise their next show is a bigger success numbers as their performance is already a winning formula.

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Words and Photos: Charlie Wallis

Tonight hardcore metal heroes Chimaira take to The Waterfront as part of their following last years’s release of new album “The Age of Hell”. The venue isn’t full by any stretch of the imagination but the fans that are here whilst lacking in number, are not lacking in fervour. The problem Chimaira arguably face is the lineup is almost unrecognisable due to so many changes in recent years.

First band on tonight are Neosis who bring their own brand and synth infused metal to the stage. Lead singer Tom does a good job to start to ignite the audience’s excitement. Hair starts to wave and fists start to pound of the chugging metal riffs start to beat the crowd’s eardrums but the lack of bodies in the venue make it hard to generate much of an atmosphere. There’s nothing overwhelmingly spectacular about this opening performance but it’s hard rock done very well and acts as a solid appetiser for the metallic main meal that’s yet to come.

Neosis

Welsh thrashers Revoker are up next and inject some life into the evening. There’s and air of bigger bands surrounding this band and lead singer Jamie Mathias is something of a young Rob Flynn with a power behind his vocals that’s hard to accomplish in all but the most successful metal bands. What sets these guys apart from other bands in their genre and indeed other bands on the bill tonight is the element of fun they bring to the proceedings with the foot on the monitor hair slinging madness that really gets to the heart of why people love this style of music. Songs like internet favourite “Stay Down” go down a storm and set a high bar for tonight’s headliners to meet.

Revoker

Finally, what everyone’s been waiting for, Chimaira take to the stage in a blaze of chugging guitars, bass drum thumps and bass drops. Singer Mark Hunter smacks of a man on a mission to bring his once prominent band back into the limelight of the hard rock and metal world. Opening with firm favourite “Powertrip” it doesn’t take the crowd long to remember why they loved Chimaira in the first place. The whole experience is a hard hitting reminder of what this band can offer. One issue is the fact that the songs sound remarkably similar from one song to the next with only one or two really standing out amongst the rest. Set closer “Resurrection” goes down particularly well. Chimaira haven’t done anything radically different to redefine themselves in the metal world, however their fans got exactly what they came for and few will have left disappointed.

Chimaira

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