Soil / Sons Of Texas / Liberty Lies / Nervewrecker

The Waterfront, Norwich on Wed 16th Nov 2016

The heavy autumn touring schedule is in full flow, and again this year there are a number of package tours on offer as bands seek to spread the cost of hitting the road. Tonight should have been one such tour but sadly Saliva pulled out of this package with fellow Americans Soil just weeks before it was due to commence. Credit must go to Soil for pushing ahead with the tour and not cancelling it altogether, especially in the current economic climate.

Unfortunately the loss of Saliva has clearly lowered the attendance for this tour and tonight the venue is only at 1/3 capacity. As I survey the sparse surroundings I can hear what I assume are roadies sound checking equipment by creating a droning noise. I quickly realise though that this nonsense is actually opening act Nervewrecker. What follows is a constant throng of pointless noises, noises which I suppose some may call art...but just not me.

Things thankfully get better next as Midlands five-piece Liberty Lies take to the stage. Still not the best of quality but compared to our openers Liberty Lies are fantastic. Realistically it is an average set from a band unlikely to ever progress further than this sort of slot, but at least they are trying to formulate their loud sounds into something which could be described as music.

Sons of Texas, who hail from...you guessed it Texas, are up next and are a genuine step up in quality. Originally booked to open for Soil and Saliva, the group do a good job of stepping up to fill the void left by Saliva. Having recently released debut album 'Baptized In The Rio Grande' the band plough through a number of catchy tracks from the album. This is a group that I could see moving forward in their careers, but they will need more opportunities in order to do that.

It's clear that those that have travelled here tonight are here for Soil, with a large number of Soil T-shirts on show. This is a band that have been enjoying a second wave of success following the return of singer Ryan McCombs in 2011 and tonight they prove that they are back to their best. So far this evening the music has got progressively better and Soil bring the night home in style with a solid run through of their back catalogue.

The length of the set is somewhat disappointing, I'd suggest an hour for a headline act is just not enough, but it does make for an impactful performance. From opening number 'Wide Open' through to the final run of 'Unreal', 'Halo' and 'Black Betty', Soil have the small crowd fully engaged and impassioned. It's great to see McCombs back where he belongs, and with performances like this, Soil's resurrection looks set to last.

With the current state of the music industry and the live scene these package deals do appear to be the way forward, especially for American bands. The issue though is when one half can't fulfil their end of the bargain, just look at the recently cancelled Glenn Hughes/Living Colour tour. In conclusion, all the credit in the world must go to Soil for coming over and fulfilling their commitments, for their performance tonight deserved a packed venue.

article by: Paul Barnes

photos by: Denis Gorbatov

published: 18/11/2016 09:40



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