Example — aka Elliot Gleave — is clearly a man who gets bored easily. Since bursting on to the scene just a few years ago, he has already been through numerous changes of style. The latest is a rock rebirth which he'll be test driving at the UEA. Plus: Motion City Soundtrack, Cedric Watson, Simone Felice Band
EXAMPLE
UEA, September 15
Example — aka Elliot Gleave — is clearly a man who gets bored easily. Since bursting on to the scene just a few years ago, he has already been through numerous changes of style.
Emerging first as a rap-poet and spoken word artist, he quickly moved in full-on rapper (albeit with a comedic cocky-geezer, rather than gangsta slant). Then came a highly success shift into Ibiza-inspired rave-rap and then full on pop stardom.
Now as he prepares to release his latest album, The Evolution of Man, in November, the follow-up to last year's Playing in the Shadows which produced one of the biggest selling singles of 2011 Changed The Way You Kiss Me, he looks to be on the move again.
He will be looking to continue his assault on the charts with his dysfunctional electro pop vibe, but this time with a rock twist.
He told NME: 'It's going to be a rock album but produced electronically — every track's got huge guitar riffs. I'm pretty much singing and trying to do impressions of Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters.'
Get a taste of what to expect at his latest of his numerous appearances in Norwich (which seems to be one of his favourite places to visit). Also on the bill are DJ Woz, Tom Odell and DJ Baller B.
t Further listening: www.trythisforexample.com
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK
Waterfront, September 16
Slightly ridiculous looking Minneapolis punk popsters Motion City Soundtrack, signed to Epitaph, return to the UK touring circuit after their participation on the Slam Dunk tour, supporting their fifth album, the folk-tinged Go.
Forget this, that or the other -core: MCS is a straight-up power-pop band, in which vocalist Justin Pierre unpretentiously soars and slides through gently eloquent anthems of romantic distress.
Formed in 1997, the band consists of founding members Justin Pierre (lead vocals and guitar) and Joshua Cain (lead guitar and backing vocals), along with keyboardist Jesse Johnson, bassist Matthew Taylor, and drummer, Tony Thaxton.
Their 2002 debut album I Am The Movie created a buzz and they signed to Epitaph. Follow up, Commit This To Memory saw them enlist Blink 182 member Mark Hoppus on production duties, and it went on to sell more than 300,000 copies. Go entered the American charts at number eight.
Pierre said: 'We are excited to be able to play some of the other new tracks from Go as well as old favourites and are always looking for suggestions from fans as far as the sets they want to hear. Contact us on Twitter and Facebook and get those requests in. No two shows will be the same.'
t Further listening: www.motioncitysoundtrack.com
CEDRIC WATSON
Norwich Arts Centre, September 17
Spearheading the emerging generation of Cajun and Creole musicians, Cedric Watson is a fiddler, vocalist, accordionist and songwriter who is bringing traditional music to new audiences.
Injecting a healthy dose of his own personality and ingenuity, Cedric has been exciting an ever-broadening fan base with his unique take on Creole, and with his new compositions that expand the genre while still respecting its roots. In the few years since he assumed the role of bandleader, all three of his albums have been nominated for Grammys.
Watson has played with some of the great family names in the idiom, including Dexter Ardoin and the Creole Ramblers and Jeffrey Broussard and the Creole Cowboys, and most recently was a featured member of the Pine Leaf Boys.
Moving with ease between fiddle and accordion, and adding his strong blues-inflected vocals, his creative style and obvious joy in playing make him an engaging and exciting live performer.
Originally from San Felipe, Texas (population 868), young Cedric made his first appearance at the Zydeco Jam at The Big Easy in Houston. Two years later, he moved to south Louisiana and quickly immersed himself in French music and language.
Over the next several years, he performed French music in 17 countries and on seven full-length albums with various groups, including Corey Ledet, Les Amis Creole with Ed Poullard and J.B. Adams, and now with his own group, Bijou Creole.
t Further listening: www.cedricwatson.com
SIMONE FELICE BAND
Norwich Arts Centre, September 20
Former member of New York State folk-rockers The Felice Brothers, chief member of The Duke & the King and published author to boot, Simone Felice has long been associated with a dusty, widescreen Americana that has gathered numerous plaudits for its honesty, literacy and spirit.
Striking out under his own name he arrives in Norwich on the back of his self-titled debut solo album which was recorded in various locations, from a London church to an abandoned high school building and a barn near his house in the woods, and features a turn from Mumford & Sons as well as production assistance from that band's Ben Lovett.
Felice has long been a storyteller, writing prose and poetry as well as songs, and that is reflected in his songs. Perhaps it's not surprising given that he was raised in the Catskill Mountains, in the shadow of Woodstock, the same area where Bob Dylan famously retreated to a workshop with the Band after his mysterious motorcycle accident.
Between his work with The Felice Brothers and the launch of his solo career, Felice briefly formed The Duke & The King, a folk-soul vocal group he fronted whose understated debut Nothing Gold Can Stay was lauded as one of 2009′s albums of the year by critics and audiences alike. He also completed his first novel, Black Jesus, a timely saga about a veteran blinded by a roadside bomb.
Here he brings his band to give full voice to his folky, warmly arranged songs that are in the tradition of The Band and Neil Young.
t Further listening: www.simonefelice.com
SOUNDS IN THE CITY
TONIGHT
Olympians + Among Brothers + Darwin & The Dinosaur (indie) — Arts Centre
Norwich Folk Club: feat. David Gibb & Elly Lucas (folk) — Christ Church Centre
Floating Greyhounds + Undercover (rock) — Brickmakers
Dancing Lotus (hip hop/pop/rock) — B2
Dynamite Horton (rockabilly) — Walnut Tree Shades
Killer Hurtz + more (metal) — King Edward VII
The Harvs (folk/roots) — Silver Road Cottage
Barefeet Records Presents (local artists) — The Birdcage
Pyvarotti — Boundary
SEPTEMBER 15
Example (hip hop/pop) — UEA
aCivilian + The Waxing Captors + Little Night Terrors (hip hop/jazz/indie) — Open
Metal Lust: feat. Mortad + Sacrilegious Throne + Immorttal Empire (metal) — Waterfront Studio
The Collective (rock/pop/soul) — Brickmakers
Icarus Vision (rock) — Boundary
Super Action Heroes (rock) — Blueberry
Maidallica (metal/tribute) — King Edward VII
No Half Steppin (hip hop) — Rumsey Wells
Robby Hodgy + Settle For Second + Keep It Secret (rock/punk) — B2
The Strollers ( — Arkwrights
The Jeffrey Brothers (blues/rock) — Walnut Tree Shades
Second Han Blues (blues) — Buck Inn
Wappscallion (roots) — Lakenham Cock
Davie J — Angel Gardens
Tony Cann — Bread & Cheese
Elizabeth May — The Leopard
Richie Munro — Keir Hardie Hall
Chippy — Robin Hood
Alan Ley — Trowel & Hammer
SEPTEMBER 16
Motion City Soundtrack (rock) — Waterfront
The Jeffrey Brothers (rock) — King Edward VII
The Dave Thomas Band (2.30pm) — Brewery Tap
The AJ Experience (4pm) — Lakenham Cock
The He-Haws (folk/roots/5pm) — Silver Road Cottage
Lee Vasey Big Band (12pm) — Brickmakers
SEPTEMBER 17
Richard Hawley + Lisa Hannigan (rock) — UEA
Cedric Watson Trio (roots) — Arts Centre
Dying Fetus + Job For A Cowboy + Revocation + Cerebal Bore (metal) — Waterfront
Jazz Jam: feat Lee Vasey — Silver Road Cottage
Jazz Jam: feat. Rich Buddie — Walnut Tree Shades
Brickie Sessions (open mic) — Brickmakers
SEPTEMBER 18
The Seznec Brothers (acoustic) — Bicycle Shop
Cuttin Edge (rock) — Brickmakers
Robert Milne + Simon Brown Trio (jazz) — Rackheath Green Man
SEPTEMBER 19
Rachel Sermanni (folk/acoustic) — Bicycle Shop
Dave McPherson + The Inverse Oreo + Nik Lowe (charity) — Waterfront
Pure Acoustic (open mic) — Brickmakers
Open Mic — Garden House
SEPTEMBER 20
Simone Felice Band (roots) — Arts Centre
The Meteors + Voodoo Ghost Town (rockabilly) — Waterfront
Sweet Transistor (alt-dance/rock) — B2
Alan Fish & Eric Chipalina (blues) — Rackheath Green Man
Dr Misfit (blues) — Walnut Tree Shades
Albert Cooper's Blues & Boogie Band — Rumsey Wells
Darkened Dials — Rose Tavern
Access To Music (local talent showcase) — Brickmakers
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