Tonight we were joined at Norwich’s Epic Studios by co-headliners This Wild Life and As It Is as they embarked on their UK tour. The pop-punk line-up was completed by support bands, Seaway and Boston Manor.
Opening the venue’s night of music was Boston Manor, a five-piece band from Blackpool. The band were expressive through the energy in their performance, jumping around the dimly lit stage. They proved to be popular with the dense crowd gathered at the front of the venue, as those lining the stage were reaching up to touch the band. Those at the back were also thoroughly enjoying the band’s performance whilst grouping together at the back with friends and other music fans alike. It was nice to see such a good reception and turnout for the first support act of the night, where many of the crowd were eager to get to the front.
Next to take to the deeply lit stage was Canadian pop-punk band, Seaway. They established themselves as a worthy support for the tour; pacing through song after song, building crowd momentum. If Boston Manor weren’t engaging enough, Seaway definitely managed to fulfil this. The crowd continued to grow and fill the front of the venue for the band whose music is influenced by the likes of Blink-182 and Sum 41. They managed to entice the crowd for the duration of their set, until they later dispersed to collect beverages before As It Is took to the stage.
To a roaring sea of screams, As It Is, the first of the two headliners, took to the stage. It was just over a year ago when As It Is were last in Norwich to perform. In April 201,4 the band played the B2, Norwich, a venue vastly smaller than Epic Studios. Since then, they have been signed to Fearless Records and have had great success, being nominated for Kerrang’s Best British Newcomer 2015. Their success, however, is not only recognisable in their achievements but also in the crowd reaction at tonight’s show. Girls were lining the stage screaming “I love you”; fangirling over Patty Walters and the rest of the band, it was a whole new atmosphere from that of last year’s show. Fans were even going to extremes trying to touch the band, holding on to band member Benjamin Biss’ feet. The crowd continued to create mosh pits throughout their set, and climbed upon the stage to crowd surf at the front of the venue. Needless to say, their performance was superb, enticing the whole crowd. It was fascinating to see just how far they had come in the space of a year. I truly hope and believe they will continue to grow as a band and will return to Norwich again soon with many more achievements under their belt.
Last to perform were This Wild Life, the second of the two headliners. An acoustic pop-punk duo from California. The atmosphere was transformed to a much calmer, more chilled-out crowd for the band who stood alone on the stage with just guitars in hand. This was all that was necessary, however, as the deep and meaningful lyrics were repeated back by the crowd. Their connection to music undoubtedly shone in each and every song as they put their all into the performance. Their talent did not end there, however, on the last song of their set, Anthony Del Grosso, guitarist, took to the drums to perform a more upbeat ending to the song. Both Del Grosso and vocalist/guitarist Kevin Jordan were originally drummers, so it was a nice tribute to where they had developed from as a group and provided diversity to their performance. The performance on the drums was short and sweet, however could have continued as the passion put into the performance was incredibly admirable. It was nice to see a band so genuine and true to their music in their performance. A group that you could listen to play live all day. I hope to see them back in the UK again soon.
This was a brilliant tour line-up for any pop-punk fans who are looking for an energy-filled, diverse show. I would thoroughly recommend seeing these bands whilst they’re still in the UK.
