Scouting For Girls
Pop-rock band, Scouting For Girls found fame for their self-titled album released in 2007 which includes popular songs that you still hear today. such as ‘She’s So Lovely,’ ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’ and ‘Heartbeat.’ Now 10 years later for their 10th anniversary tour and new album featuring a reissue of their top 10 songs, plus 10 new ones, Norwich were certainly hoping for a 10/10 night!
The night began with Ben McKelvey taking to the stage and opening up the entire show. Ben Mckelvey had the perfect vibe to settle everyone in - with it just being him and his guitar on stage, he mesmerised the whole audience. I have to admit, my very favourite part of his performance was his cover of Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash, everyone was singing and having a great time! Definitely opened the show perfectly for Scouting for Girls.
After a short wait after the impressive performance by Ben McKelvey, Scouting for Girls took to the stage. I found it disappointing that they did not emphasise the fact that it was the 10th anniversary of their biggest album - I think throughout the entirety of the show front man Roy Stride mentioned it only once.
One thing I love about seeing Scouting for Girls perform is that there is always a variety of different age groups - they seem to appeal to everyone and the audience were certainly involved throughout the more popular songs, with the favourites being ‘I Wish I Was James Bond,’ ‘Michaela Strachan’ and ‘Posh Girls.’ Although there was a lot of clapping and enthusiasm throughout, there did seem to be the occasional lull in the energy and vibe of the crowd through the lesser-known songs.
It was obvious that Scouting for Girls depend on the crowd participation. When there was a drop in energy from the crowd, the band seemed to flop too with a few cringey moments of the band expecting the audience to sing back to them and they didn’t.
However, Scouting for Girls used a mixture of old vs new in their set, and they always brought back the energy by playing one of the classics.
Overall I enjoyed the show, probably not as much as I have done previously at other shows that I’ve seen them but I think this is down to the audience and the atmosphere was just lacking this time. Scouting for Girls always sell out their Norwich date before any other show, so clearly they’re doing something right and I do believe that they will continue to do so for future tours.
