There is a revolution under way, real music is making its return to the charts. Tonight's headline act The Temperance Movement are proof that the revolution has begun, after all their debut album just teased the top ten before settling at an notable number twelve. The band have done this through building a solid fan base on the back of a string of impressive shows.
It's for this reason that I took it upon myself to make my way to The Waterfront in Norwich for an evening of real music. Having been converted by The Temperance Movement back in April when they supported the brilliant Rival Sons in Cambridge I was fully expectant of a fine night of music. This expectancy was furthered by the news that The Graveltones would serve as main support, given I'd heard nothing but good things about them.
The scene was set and I took up position for our opening act, young singer-songwriter Samuel Taylor. London based but Sheffield born Taylor got the night off to a great start. Whether he was regaling the crowd with stories or serenading them with his Dylanesque melodies Taylor entertained throughout his stint on stage. Accompanied only by his acoustic guitar and trusty mouth organ, this was a top performance by a talented young man.
And it was talent that was again on show next. The Graveltones are Jimmy O on vocals and guitars and Mikey Sorbello on drums, and together they create a real heavy blues rock. Sorbello is an absolute beast on the drums, getting noises from his kit not heard since the passing of John Bonham. The pair appear at home on stage and it didn't take long for them to win over the Waterfront crowd.
Comparisons will be made to the likes of The White Stripes and The Black Keys given their chosen genre and number of members, but this would be wrong. They are in the same family but are no closer than cousins. The Graveltones have taken the style of these bands and stepped it up a notch. This is real down and dirty rock and roll and I for one can't wait for their debut album to drop.
What do you get when you take one raspy blues singer and two great guitarists then add a highly experienced and talented rhythm section? The Temperance Movement! This five-piece have been causing waves in the world of music. Their shows are getting bigger and bigger, they're nominated for some huge awards and now their debut album has gone in at number twelve in the pop drivel dominated charts. All this and they have barely been together a couple of years.
The sign outside the venue wrongly advertises them as The Temperane Movement, but despite this they pack the place out (either this or there are a lot of disappointed Temperane Movement fans inside). All joking aside as a frequent visitor to this venue I've seen a lot of "bigger" bands play to a half empty venue so it's an impressive crowd.
The bands performance was a joy to behold and the audience helped make this a memorable concert. There was a real passion for the music being played both from the band and from their fans. One moment that demonstrated this more than any other was the bands mesmerising recital of 'Chinese Lanterns' without the use of the PA!
There were five instruments on stage, two guitars, bass, drums and singer Phil Campbell's voice. The five fit perfectly together to deliver the blues rock sound that the band have captured so well on their self titled debut album. Every track on that album featured in the bands set and it's an album that truly is all killer and no filler. From tonight's opening number 'Be Lucky' to the encore of 'Take It Back' and 'Serenity' each song plays its role in signalling The Temperance Movements arrival as a real player on the live scene.
As I've already said The Temperance Movement have only been together since 2011, but watching the band perform you would think they had been together twenty or more years, so tight is their performance. A fantastic 'Only Friend' leaves me in awe of the shear talent on stage and the scary thing is they are only going to get better!
I opened by saying that a revolution is underway and tonight we witnessed an inspiring rally. Samuel Taylor, The Graveltones and The Temperance Movement all deserve huge success and I'm sure that it'll come. So the revolution cometh, a revolution led by a movement, The Temperance Movement.
FUTURE GIGS
sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.