Open House 4
Norwich Open last night hosted another of their regular Open House evenings – a four-hour showcase of local musical talent covering a gamut of genres and styles and, by using both the main Banking Hall and the adjacent Club Bar, provided for a seamless progression of acts from start to finish. The talking point ahead of the evening was undoubtedly the Norwich debut of the new-look Morganway, but ahead of that lay seven more acts, and it all kicked off before the last of the Saturday afternoon shoppers had even vacated the city centre.
In fact, it was just gone half-past six when I arrived, and Norwich folk-pop trio Late Nights // Early Mornings had already begun their set in the Club Bar, bolstered by guest appearances from Neale on guitar, Jonathan on bass, and with rapper Dan Gatez. It is this mixture of laid-back indie-folk harmonies together with urban and contemporary flourishes that mark Jess, Gem and Lisa out as something refreshingly different. Stand out tracks included debut single Infinity.
Across in the Banking Hall a youthful seven piece rock band by the name of Promise Theory, from Great Yarmouth, were managing to make even the main stage seem full. Playing a mix of original numbers and covers, what Promise Theory lacked in experience and technical expertise they certainly make up for with enthusiasm, and plenty of volume. With three lead singers independently working the stage it occasionally lost a little focus, but the choice of The Cranberries' Zombie was a nice touch. And full marks to drummer Callum for dispensing with his shirt so early in the evening.
Gladboy are a garage-rock trio fronted by charismatic vocalist and guitarist George Orton. The band describe their sound as junkadelic, which hits the nail right on the head. Their set in the Club Bar includes a tribute to Mark E Smith sledge-hammered into an enjoyably chaotic mix of their own material. At times they remind of an embryonic Blur, with an anarchic experimentalism that is fighting to find a darker side. One to watch.
Chalky Seas restore a comfortably laid-back vibe to the Banking Hall, with the familiar sound of Ginny Dix combining with Tony, Joe and Adam to create some lovely vocal harmonies. The set includes tracks from both their Cavalier and Long Way Gone EP's, with Plastic Friends being my own personal favourite.
I have seen The Meeks a couple of times before, but tonight, in the Club Bar, they really impressed me with the quality of their songwriting. Jack Fisher and Matt Williamson normally share vocal duties, but with Jack suffering with a throat infection tonight it is left to Matt to assume singing duties. Alright, they are not the most exciting band visually, but amidst their rocking rhythms and strong melodies there is something tonight that conjures something of early Bowie compositions and vocalising.
Ipswich based singer Bessie Turner is riding the crest of a wave at the moment, having had an amazing 2017, including a performance on the Lake Stage at Latitude and a BBC Maida Vale session (recorded for Jo Wiley on the same day that she had been booked to play Norwich Arts Centre). I originally saw her at Open when she supported Beth Rowley, and I was instantly won over. Tonight on the cavernous Banking Hall stage she initially looked a little apprehensive, but the reassuring familiarity of Tom Armstrong and Ben Watts (both from Dingus Khan) providing bass, drums and back-chat soon put her at ease, allowing her personality and talent to shine through. Top tracks for me tonight were Nino and Julie's Diagrams, but check out her singles Words You Say and Big Sleep. She deserves to be huge.
And so to tonight's headliners. First up in the Club Bar are the wonderful Tibetan Night Terrors, a gloriously tropical infusion of a band led by Ben Wong and Caitlin Woods, who perform in Norwich far too infrequently. With each and every one of their songs so packed full of goodness that each number counts towards the healthy-listening equivalent of your five-a-day, their set is a dance-laden reverse coitus, perversely commencing with The Act of Physical Lovemaking, having you Love Bitten in the middle, yet ending with Foreplay. And a performance that has you screaming for more.
Last, and by no means least, the new-look Morganway take the stage in front of a packed out Banking Hall audience. With SJ Mortimer now assuming vocal duties followign the departure of Yve Mary B, and with the addition of Nicole Terry (also from SJ & The Flying Pigs) on fiddle, and Rory Hill on bass, this is a pumped-up Morganway that now seems intent on grafting some Country and Americana muscle onto their already hugely successful alt-folk foundation.
Yet, despite the Flying Pig incursion (Morganway's lead guitarist Kieran Morgan also played banjo with the Pigs), tonight's set was pure Morganway, carefully built around songs that still work with the Nashville leanings and sheer power of SJ's vocals. And so it is that we start with Let Me Go, move on through My Love Ain't Gonna Save You, and take in the likes of Frozen In Our Time. There is a surging version of Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time and new songs, including sensitive lyrical imagery in Daylight Rising.
But it is, once again, it is the encore performance of the awesome Hurricane that seals the evening, and sends tonight's audience away euphoric. Tonight's was a genuinely top class performance, brimming with professionalism, and one that now sets the bar even higher for one of this region's most impressive of bands.
