Enthralling dark rockers Alkaline Trio finally make it to Norwich as part of a UK tour celebrating their 15th anniversary and promoting their latest album Damnesia. Plus: Cocos Lovers and Hans Chew.
COCOS LOVERS
Norwich Arts Centre, May 5
Formed in 2008, Cocos Lovers (pronounced Co-Koss), are a close-knit six-piece band made up of family members and friends who hail from Deal on the Kent coast.
The band comprises Will Greenham (vocals/guitar/mandolin), Natasha Greenham (vocals/violin), Nicola Vella (vocals/flute/percussion), David Hatton (lead guitar), Billy Glinn (vocals/bass guitar), and Phil Self (vocals/drums/mandolin/guitar/banjo).
Since forming they have become a favourite on the UK festival scene, including three separate performances at last year's Glastonbury, and gained a reputation for fantastic multi-instrumental performances combined with choir-like harmonies and glorious cinematic melodies.
Their music is heartfelt and pure, combining a diverse array of influences and styles from traditional folk to African and Eastern rhythms and strains of the Deep South.
Their 2010 debut album, Johannes, gained plenty of acclaim from critics as for its joyous musical curveballs that kept listeners guessing.
Their second album, Elephant Lands, was recorded at Muskie studios, made up of converted caravans on a working farm in the heart of the Kent countryside.
t Further listening: www.cocoslovers.com
EAST PARK REGGAE COLLECTIVE
Norwich Arts Centre, May 4
Formed in Leeds in 2005, the East Park Reggae Collective was brought together by long-time collaborators Johnny Tomlinson and Tommy Evans, and quickly gained a serious reputation on the Leeds scene as an epic live party band.
Fronted by the uncompromising vocals of Anna Stott, the band also boasts a heavyweight four-piece horn section, and a locked in rhythm section.
The band's rough breed of dub, reggae, ska and soul has one them fans across Europe and has seen them appear alongside some reggae legends, including the likes of Dawn Penn, Easy Star All Stars, The Skatalites, Mad Professor, The Beat, Trojan Soundsystem, Iration Steppa's and Blackalicious to name but a few.
The latest product of the fantastic Leeds music scene that forms the backbone of First Word, the band's debut album Three Stripe Science was the result of six years of hard work.
t Further listening: eastparkreggaecollective.com
ALKALINE TRIO
Waterfront, May 9
Enthralling dark rockers Alkaline Trio finally make it to Norwich as part of a UK tour celebrating their 15th anniversary and promoting their latest album Damnesia.
The Chicago-based band had to postpone the tour last November after guitarist and vocalist Matt Skiba crushed his foot in a motorbike accident and was unable to travel.
The band was formed in 1996 originally consisting of Skiba, Rob Doran (bass/vocals) and Glenn Porter (drums/vocals). Doran left after their first EP, Sundials, and was replaced by Dan Andriano.
Their first full length album, Goddamnit, and a collection of their previously released EPs came before they made an international impact with 2001's From Here To Infirmary, backed by memorable videos for the singles Stupid Kid and Private Eye. Albums including Good Mourning, Crimson and Agony & Irony followed with the band building a following all the time and hitting the album charts.
Damnesia is their eighth album and showcases a selection of fan favourites from the band's extensive catalogue with, in the manner of Nirvana's Unplugged, a number of intimate semi-unplugged acoustic renditions as well as a cover version of the Violent Femmes' I Held Her in My Arms.
Support comes from Dave Hause and The Dear & Departed
t Further listening: www.alkalinetrio.com
HANS CHEW
Bicycle Shop, May 10
Hans Chew is the latest international performer to take to the stage of the Bicycle Shop in St Benedict's Street, which has really begun to attract some top talent in recent months.
The New York-based artist visits as a duo with virtuoso guitarist Dave Cavallo at his side and promising a howling night of piano-driven rock'n'roll history. Think Jerry Lee Lewis on a Nick Cave trip, or Leon Russell tickling James Booker in the backseat of Little Richard's Cadillac.
'I'm a product of American culture circa 1975,' he explains. 'The Grand Ole Opry was on TV, Ralph Emery was on the radio. My grandfather sang harmony in a gospel quartet and taught me that high-lonesome sound. My mother turned me on to Hendrix and the Stones, but my father only listened to classical music: I knew Beethoven's Fifth before Led Zeppelin's fourth.'
Chew's 2010 debut album, Tennessee and Other Stories..., received four-stars from Rolling Stone, while Uncut included the record in their Top 50 Albums of the Year.
He is currently working on his next record, due later this year. His new single Mercy is a juggernaut slab of wailing Stax-esque Telecaster with an addictive backbeat groove and Otis Redding-like bridge.
t Further listening: www.hanschew.com
SOUNDS IN THE CITY
May 4
Camille O'Sullivan (cabaret/chantese) — Playhouse
East Park Reggae Collective (reggae) — Arts Centre
Darwin and the Dinosaur + Tied To The Mast + Hello Bear (indie) — Open
Star Wars Rave: feat. DJ Skism (dubstep) — Carnival
Don't Spook The Horses (Neil Young tribute) — Olives
The Collective (funk/soul) — Brickmakers
Night Train (funk/soul) — Hog In Armour
Ivyrise (pop/rock) — B2
Wicked Faith (indie/rock) — King Edward VII
Hard Rain (acoustic) — Brewery Tap
The Cream Horns (blues/funk) — Walnut Tree Shades
Music House: feat. Gill Alexander's Fairly Big Band + more — Wensum Lodge
Truescape (pop/rock) — Rackheath Green Man
Vikki H — Fiveways
San — Lakenham Cock
May 5
Cocos Lovers (alt-folk) — Arts Centre
Norwich Jazz Party — Airport Holiday Inn
To The Last (rock) — Brickmakers
Dirty Tricks + more (indie/rock) — B2
The Burning Crows + Pocket Gorillaz (rock) — King Edward VII
Tendahooks (rock) — Heartsease
Hot Cold Ground (blues) — Walnut Tree Shades
Storm (rock) — Boundary
Stepback (rock'n'roll) — Arkwrights
Doozoot (pop/rock) — Angel Gardens
King Dinosaur (rockabilly) — The Gordon
Pyevarotti — Trowel & Hammer
Platinum — The Windmill
Tony Cann — The Marlpitt
Shannan — Quebec Tavern
Liza Wolfe — The Oasis
May 6
Bo Nanafana: feat. The Cuban Brothers (Latin/comedy) — Open
Acaysha (folk/roots) — Brewery Tap
Dr Misfit (rock) — Boundary
Sally Taylor & The Midnight Soul Band — Whalebone
Clive Paul (60s) — Arkwrights
Norwich Jazz Party — Airport Holiday Inn
Anna Martin (4pm) — Robin Hood
Lee Vasey Big Band (12pm) — Brickmakers
Graham McGrotty (4pm) — Lakenham Cock
May 7
Brickies Sessions (open mic) — Brickmakers
Son of Cash (tribute) — Stanley
Jazz Jam: feat. Rich Buddie — Walnut Tree Shades
Janie K — Bread & Cheese
Jazz Jam — B2
Norwich Jazz Party — Airport Holiday Inn
May 8
Ladyhawke (electro/pop) — Waterfront
The Lines + more (indie) — Epic
Scott Hamilton (jazz) — Rackheath Green Man
Johnny Cash Roadshow (tribute) — Maddermarket
Brickies Blues Club: feat. Slow Gin (blues) — Brickmakers
May 9
Alkaline Trio (rock) — Waterfront
Outlands + more (gypsy/punk) — B2
Dave Thomas & Friends (acoustic) — Brewery Tap
Lee Vasey & Friends — Trowel & Hammer
Pure Acoustic (open mic) — Brickmakers
May 10
Hans Chew (Americana/acoustic) — Bicycle Shop
Guns 2 Roses + Metallica Reloaded (metal/tribute) — Waterfront
Keno Kings (rock/blues) — Walnut Tree Shades
Against The Odds (pop/rock) — Brickmakers
Soothsayer Promo (metal) — B2
Graham Horne — Rose Tavern
Open Jam — King Edward VII
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