Tibetan Night Terrors
In all its isolation the Norwich music scene often strikes me as unpredictable and temperamental, so a bolstering of my faith is required from time to time. Kicking off the bank holiday weekend in style, but not before a bit of a shaky start, Tibetan Night Terrors were here to do just that.
Making their live debut, London-via-Norfolk duo Cherryade were certainly the biggest talking point of the evening. On record, their brilliantly tongue-in-cheek pop tunes meld dancehall chart elements with a filthy teen aggression, not streets away from Aluna George or post-comeback Lily Allen. Live however, it’s a car crash. Lacking any form of stage presence or gravitas, the twosome’s in-your-face lyrics fall flat at the hands of out of sync dance moves, and the lack of any actual live elements besides vocals. There are hints of big potential in the music itself, but Cherryade are yet to bring their live personas to fruition.
Continuing the wackiness, percussion-heavy elec-trio Mega Emotion donned ceremonial robes for a set of kitschy pop. Having been considerably turned off the last time I saw them, in the club room at OPEN, it’s a pleasant surprise to find their ghoulish vocals harmonising much more smoothly in the echoing Arts Centre hall. All three members look a little disorientated, but their musical elements fit together nicely, with guitars as scratchy as if straight from an 00s NME compilation.
The Tibetans rock up and save the day. The cold April showers outside are long forgotten as the quintet’s tropical melodies carry us to a sun-baked beach far away, complete with floral garlands passed around by the band. The group’s buoyant, indie-pop is a breath of fresh air, with a forgotten charm captured so well by the likes of Friendly Fires and Foals back when the world was a simpler place. Tonight, worries are cast aside, washed away by sweat and glitter, which frontman Ben Wong produces by the handful from his pockets. He mostly covers just one person in the front row, but the sentiment is carried across the whole room.
Each member looks a treat, decked out in impeccable Hawaiian ensembles. Moving around the stage like a meteor, it’s difficult not to be entranced by bassist Matt Gadd, while Wong’s flamboyant stage presence is as infectiously upbeat as his music. He’s a glittered messiah, reaching out to touch the hands of his people. The jungle rumble rolls on into the night, the party not subsiding for a second.
Photo: Floor Jansen
