Horace Andy
Walking to the Waterfront on a beautiful spring Tuesday evening was just the antidote required after a long but dreary Easter weekend. That what was awaiting me was the legend that is Horace Andy made that stroll all the sweeter. On arrival though my optimism was slightly diminished as there was an eerie stillness to one of Norwich’s best venues. Still, almost unperturbed , I headed in to the Waterfront Studio with high hopes.
Shortly after my arrival the support for the night took to the stage. Skipyard Rockers have been playing frequently in Norwich recently and it had only been 2 short months since I had seen them supporting Mykal Rose in the same venue. Their sound was crisp and the playing skilled. They succeeded in getting the somewhat disappointingly small audience moving on the dancefloor, almost as if those in attendance just needed a little nudge to get into the swing of things. It would be nice if the band had moved around a little more on stage but everything considered they did a good job of warming up the crowd.
I was pleased to see that the crowd had thickened significantly by the time Horace Andy was due on stage. There was a lovely vibe about the venue and as soon as he appeared in a resplendent orange outfit and launched into Must Surrender the audience did just that. People were grooving, singing every word, men were arm in arm wobbling after too many beers and more than anything people were just smiling and having a great time. We were in the hands of a master of his craft and the band were just as brilliant. The trombone brought a great warmth to the songs, the keys provided dazzling almost dance-music-like embellishments, the drums and bass propelled the tunes with great dynamism and the guitar playing was sublime. The tone of the guitar coupled with almost psychedelic solos complemented the set perfectly.
In truth the set seemed to fly by. Of course the ‘big’ songs; Fever, Cuss Cuss and Skylarking, caused huge excitement. The latter of these getting seriously heavy (in a good way). There was too in the encore an outing of Massive Attack’s Hymn of the Big Wheel. Stringing this variety in musical styles together was Horace Andy’s charisma, exuberance and soulful voice. It all seemed so effortless, and this this can only come from many years of experience. You would be hard pressed to tell the difference between last night and a night heralding the beginning of a weekend, certainly the long Easter break had done nothing to diminish people’s willingness to have fun. It felt at the conclusion of the set that people could have easily stayed for more but alas with an impending curfew the night had to come to an end. On wandering home in the cool night air it sunk in just how lucky we had been to witness Horace Andy once again in the fine city.
