Telegram, Warm Brains, and Painted Heathers at The Waterfront - Oh, and let's not forget the football either.

It has been something of a challenge to make it to The Waterfront tonight. I have had to forego a volunteer meeting for this year's Norfolk and Norwich Festival (mind you, I did manage to submit my online application form earlier in the day), and had to get myself over to Oak Street to finally collect my Piaggio scooter which had been in dry dock for the last two weeks having a new fuel injector fitted. Add to that the huge influx of traffic into the city for tonight's Premier League football clash between Norwich and Chelsea, and you can imagine the disruption to normal travelling times throughout the city.

Anyway, I've made it in time, got my scooter back (which has saved me the frustration of having to search for a car parking space close to King Street) and have arrived at The Waterfront with minutes to spare. And all because of a band I first saw at Festival No6 in Portmeirion two years ago. Telegram were one of a number of bands I saw for the first time that weekend, and was really impressed by their tight retro sound and their stage presence. It is perhaps surprising, therefore, that it has taken this long for a headlining tour and a debut album to follow.

Opening tonight is a local band who performed their first gig back in October of last year at Norwich Arts Centre. Painted Heathers consist of Brandon Jacobs on guitar and vocals, Lauren Rose Smith on bass, and James Lloyd Kerry on drums. Then, they were giving away demo CDs to the audience, tonight they are launching their debut single Little Steps.

Painted Heathers

I liked them then and I still like them four months on. Brandon is clearly the driving force, and the most accomplished musician of the three. He looks a little bit like a young Terry Hall, and the music has that same 90's feel - melodically in the same camp as Colourfield but with a far riffier guitar sound. Lauren plays bass well within her capabilities and James keeps the pace steady. It all sounds good, although at times it would be nice to just crank the tempo up a notch, although this is still only gig number three. Watch these grow and flourish.

Now I'm not much of an offal eater, and I have to admit that Warm Brains came across as a bit of a budget dish. Frontman Rory Atwell gives good value for money with some effective guitar work and rock and roll posturing. He is still remembered from his time with Test Icicles, and has since turned his hand to engineering and producing with artists like Palma Violets and Yuck, as well as tonight's headliners. However, tonight his own vocals sound at times a little flat, and whilst his colleagues may not look quite as Camden High Road as he does, they definitely make a valid contribution to the band's energy. With an album to promote, and track titles like Languid Tarmac kick-starting our imagination, Warm Brains may well appeal to those dining off the trendier musical specials boards. For the meantime though, I prefer mine chilled or piping hot. And, lets not forget, we have our own Teen Brains to tickle our taste buds in Norwich.

Warm Brains

Now, whether it was the glorious autumnal sunshine of 2014 Festival No6 that put me in such a receptive mood for new bands, or the magical setting of Portmeirion village, or simply the copious quantities of local ale, but Telegram tonight failed to ignite for me like they did that weekend. Which, for a band that has only just released their debut album Operator, comes as a bit of a surprise. Perhaps, in re-working the songs just a little too much prior to the recording process, they have lost some of their initial charisma. I remember them drawing proudly in influence and style from the glam-era, and serving up a seventies musical bouillabaise - their were fine lumps of Bolan, Bowie and Roxy Music floating around in a swirling cauldron of guitars and Chinnichap beats, yet they had their own identity and contribution to add by way of seasoning.

Now, the roles seem to have reversed, and their own ingredients are fighting for domination in a watery minestrone of tribute band pastiche. Only the Bowie cover, Heroes, saved it for me tonight, despite the leather jacketed coolness of vocalist Matt Saunders. The remainder of the set, although tight and played with gusto, never regained the previous ground lost. In striding out to become contemporary they have in actual fact shuffled several steps back. Sadly, they may have discarded the very thing that made them initially sound so fresh. Ironic for a band that has named themselves after a means of communication that today's audience may not have even heard of, let alone used.

Telegram

And, as if that wasn't bad enough, Norwich City lost  their football game as well.

 https://www.facebook.com/paintedheathersband/?fref=ts
https://paintedheathers.bandcamp.com/

http://www.warmbrains.com/
https://www.facebook.com/warmbrains/

https://www.facebook.com/teletelegramgram/

Courtney Barnett at The Waterfront, Norwich

The Norwich Waterfront has never been my all-time favourite venue, yet I have been to some cracking gigs here over the years, everything from Anna Calvi to Scissor Sisters, The Klaxons to Cerys Matthews. Despite its wide stage and intimate feel, it is always a difficult decision where to stand for the best. The low ceiling means that the stage cannot be raised more than a couple of feet. Stand more than a few rows back and it becomes a 'head and shoulders only' view of the band - any further back and you are also busy avoiding the two dominating steel columns that threaten to position themselves just where you don't want them to be. And finally you run the risk of the tallest kid in the venue casually strolling in and taking up a position directly in front of you. Yes, a gig at The Waterfront can sometimes seem like watching a band through the slats of a picket fence.

Tonight's stage for Melbourne-based singer songwriter Courtney Barnett has been canopied by a huge white parachute-gazebo affair, reducing the playing headroom even further, and looking dangerously close to the heat of the spotlights, although I suppose they are mostly LED these days.

Fraser A. Gorman

Fraser A Gorman, also from Melbourne, is first on stage, and even he comments on how much he looks like Bob Dylan, with his acoustic guitar, tousled hair and pointy features. When he slips on the neck-braced harmonica the illusion is complete, although his laconic Aussie banter is a million miles from the Frewheelin' Minnesotan. Dylan would never have likened a girlfriend to a late night kebab. His amiable nature and pleasant enough songs go down well enough with the Norwich audience - and I don't think his laddish comments have alienated too many punters.

Spring King

Next up are 'Spring King', a four piece from Manchester fronted by drummer and songwriter Tarek Musa. Probably as a direct result of Fraser's previous kebab comment, I have already morphed them from Spring Roll and Burger King into 'Spring Chicken', and the new name has stuck itself into my head. It doesn't help that I also find the stage dynamics scrambled when the drummer takes lead vocals, leaving three guitarists up front to posture and merely contribute choruses and refrains. The net effect is a garage-punk performance worthy of a Wayne's World sequel, or at best The Hives dressing down via a thrift shop.

No such disappointment when Courtney Barnett and The Courtney Barnetts (greatest name ever for a backing band) taking stage with no fashion pretensions or delusions of grandeur, looking every bit like they have just strolled off the Melbourne sidewalk. I need to remind myself  that the album 'Sometimes I Just Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit' has already made top twenty both sides of the Atlantic, as well as top four in her native Australia.

Backed only by regulars Dave Mundie on drums and the charismatic Bones Sloane on bass, it is Courtney's left-handed Telecaster that has to do all the guitar work without frequent fourth member Dan Luscombe being present to add extra depth. Even in the opener 'Elevator Operator', the Sheryl Crow infused anthem to drudgery and dead end jobs, it becomes clear that this live set is going to be a bass-driven grunge-fest rather than a display of country-garage, although the sound is great and the vocals are still clear enough not to obscure the wry cynicism of Barnett's lyrics.

And this is what makes Courtney Barnett so much more interesting than other recent entrants into the new wave of 'slightly kooky' female songwriting, which saw the likes of Ida Maria and Sandi Thom come and go. Even our own KT Tunstall struggled to keep the momentum going. Courtney has the lyrical turn and observation of a Kate Tempest, or even a Neko Case, raising the everyday and mundane to an artform that makes you want to cut and paste every one of her lines. They are way too precious to lose through a poorly mixed desk. To the sound engineers' credit, this does not happen.

A couple of numbers in and Barnett has relaxed into her surroundings, Sloane's revelations of being denied the go-carts at Wild Trax, and eating 'great thai' on the floating restaurant helps to initiate a dialogue of bonhomie with the audience. We are asked if we 'had a g'day' and if we are going out later for Jager Bombs. It is only towards the end of the set where the old chestnut of Norwich audiences is raised, that of us all being a bit too quiet and well-behaved. It takes a plaintive call of 'Dance you fuckers!" before launching into 'Avant Gardner', and the floor finally responds by feeding back some physical appreciation.

Then, after one of those excruciating delays where the band has left the stage at the end of the set, the applause has died down and we are still not sure whether we are getting an encore or not (even the venue seems confused) the band return for a finale that concludes in a cover of The Easybeats' 'I'll Make You Happy', at the end of which Courtney launches herself at the drumkit, ends up on the floor and her guitar strewn across a snare. It's only rock and roll, but I loves it.

Courtney Barnett website HERE

Buy the album 'Sometimes I Just Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit' on Amazon HERE

Young Guns (...Having Some Fun!) at The Waterfront - The Tilting Sky and Accelerator Showcase

Norwich promoter and good all-round musical egg Craig Hill had been careful to attach a rider to the publicity for this night of young local bands - yes, there is already a Buckinghamshire band that goes by the name of 'Young Guns', and no, they are not appearing as part of The Tilting Sky's showcase at The Waterfront tonight. Instead, 'Young Guns - Norwich 1' was featuring, in conjunction with 'Accelerator', Community Music East's development programme,  a taster night to highlight five young bands currently honing their skills in this Fine City.

 Five bands for a fiver? What did I have to lose?

Comic Book Ending

Good advance ticket sales meant that the upstairs Studio at The Waterfront was already full (plenty of friends and family at the back whilst the young crowd administer encouragement from the front), and rock four-piece 'Comic Book Ending' were already on stage. Frontman Jack Steel has already mastered the authentic low-slung guitar posturing to look the part, and the band is bristling with confidence. Watch their videos on YouTube here if you haven't seen them live.

'Perfect Mistakes' are a three piece, with vocals shared between drummer Ben and guitarist Marcus. Bass player Ollie does what all good bass bass players do best - watches everything and keeps the bassline going. Nice bit of harmonica playing from Ben, and Marcus does have a really interesting voice, with lots of potential. Although they were offering free EPs on the night, they do have tracks  on their Bandcamp page here if you failed to snaffle one.

Marcus of 'Perfect Mistakes'

'Lobster' are a band that are making a lot of noise at the moment - well, with a line up of eight plus a  loose collective of extra musicians on whom to call as well, what else would you expect. You may have seen them busking on Gentleman's Walk, and you may have spotted tenor sax man Dominic Trevor performing with local samba-funk-rock band 'Rabo de Foguette' when they played a sold out night recently at Norwich Arts Centre. 'Like' them on Facebook here and check out there video performances from The Birdcage last year.

Lobster

Bolstered by the vocals of Molly Holdom, Lobster's set includes their own compositions sandwiched between soulful jazz-funk interpretations of classics like Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together' and Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely'. So much talent on one tiny stage, these guys are Norwich's very own 'Uptown Funk'. They even throw in a limbo competition as part of their set. No extra charge!

Amazon Blu

'Amazon Blu' played Norwich Arts Centre for the 'Montagues and Caplets' album launch last July, then rocked The Mash Tun in October as part of Norwich Sound and Vision. This time they are back to celebrate the launch of their own EP, available through Bandcamp here . Citing inspiration from Kate Bush and Lily Allen, but compared by others to Tracey Thorn's old band Marine Girls, 10,000 Maniacs, and The Secret Goldfish, this all-girl trio has already carved out a name for themselves all the way from here to London. Subtle melodies, assured delivery, and still only in their teens.

The Mondegreens

Headliners and final performance of the evening came from The Mondegreens, a four piece indie band featuring Oliver Jordan on vocals, Fred Garrett-Stanley on guitar, Gabriel Gifford on bass, and Jan Shelley on drums. They headlined a showcase evening at Epic Studios last July, and now they are back headlining the Waterfront. Find them on Facebook, or grab a track  here on Soundcloud.

All five acts are a tribute to the young musicianship in Norwich, yet it has to be said that The Mondegreens have a tightness in their playing that only comes with hard work and committment. They are deserved headliners tonight, but graciously invite Lobster back on stage for a final collaboration - a rumbustious version of Beats International's 'Dub Be Good To Me'. This is jam-hot!

The Mondegreens and Lobster - 'Dub Be Good to Me'