NORWICH ARTS CENTRE UP FOR NME'S 'SMALL VENUE OF THE YEAR'!

NME are searching for Britain's best small venue, and picking one from every region in the country to go in their shortlist. And, the good news for us Norfolk folk, is that the Norwich Arts Centre has made the cut!

The shortlist is as follows;
South East: Tunbridge Wells Forum
South West: Bristol Thekla
Wales: Bridgend Hobos
Midlands: Stoke Sugarmill
London: 100 Club
East Anglia: Norwich Arts Centre
North East: Leeds Brudenell Social Club
North West: Hebden Bridge Trades Club
Scotland: Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh
Northern Ireland: Belfast Limelight

It'd be fantastic to see NAC do well, because I've been to some great gigs there in the last year and a half, among them Rolo Tomassi, Young Guns and Francesqa, and it's an excellent place for intimate shows. If it was possible to vote, I'd encourage you guys to spam. 

But it's down to a (knowledgeable, it must be said) panel containing Frank Turner, T in the Park promoter Geoff Ellis, Reading/Leeds boss Melvin Benn, Jo Dipple, head of UK Music, Radio 1's Huw Stephens and NME writers Krissi Murison, Mike Williams and Luke Lewis.

Regardless, it's really good to see the tiny venues get recognition, because they're where bands start, and where they come back to when they've grown up and got big and famous to treat the true fans. Fingers crossed for the NAC!

LIVE REVIEW; YOUNG GUNS/MARMOZETS, 24/3/12, NORWICH ARTS CENTRE

*****


Off the back of the Bare Bones acoustic tour in support of recent album Bones, and a support slot around Europe alongside the mighty Enter Shikari, Young Guns came to the Norwich Arts Centre on the first of 2 UK headline dates to play an intimate sold-out show. Warming up the crowd for them were Yorkshire math-punks Marmozets, one of the most exciting and hotly-tipped new British bands to emerge for some time. Both bands combined to create a triumphantly breathless and chaotic night.


Now, I don't normally cover the support bands, but I'm making an exception with Marmozets, because I came to see them as much as I did Young Guns. With 2 EPs (the free Passive Aggressive and the £2.50 bargain Vexed) under their belts, Marmozets have already received critical acclaim from the likes of Kerrang! and Rock Sound, and despite their young age (the drummer's only 17, I think), delivered a polished yet decidedly mental half-hour. Opening with Vexed's first track Onemanwolfpack, they ripped through tracks from each EP such as Lives (check the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CbMxMJwhnI) and The Perfect Beverage with a fantastic energy, even going into the crowd for their last song. One of my favourite bands at the moment (and lovely guys - I chatted to vocalist Becca and guitarist Sam afterwards), with the sort of technical skill that would make a lot of metal shredders, drummers and vocalists cry into their beards, Marmozets are going a long, long way, and I recommend that you get on board. 


And then came Young Guns, the interior of the Arts Centre by now packed out. With a set comprising of their best from their 2 albums All Our Kings Are Dead, Bones and lone EP Mirrors, they burst onto the stage with a combo of Elements and the anthemic Bones. Wasting no time except to thank the crowd for turning out in such numbers, they played with great enthusiasm and force. That fed back into the crowd, who responded in turn to lend the band their own energy back - it was a cycle that lasted the whole night. The only minor disappointment was the lack of an encore to their set, but given that they played a well-rounded set with appeal to fans from every stage of their career, closing with EP track and fan fave Daughter Of The Sea and singles Winter Kiss/Weight Of The World, there were few complaints. A brilliant evening.


COPYRIGHT Thomas Castle, April 2012
Special thanks to Livewire 1350's Head of Music Jay Lawrence for getting me (and mate Simon) in!