With The Night Café being my first post-lockdown gig, I wondered if there would be the same energy and excitement of previous concerts where covid wasn’t a concern, and I can gladly say that the Liverpool-based indie band did not disappoint. Playing a range of their best hits from ‘The Way of Mary’ from their 2017 EP Get Away from the Feeling, to ‘Think It Over’ from their 2021 EP For Better Days, there was something for new and old fans alike.
Supported by a resident three-piece Norwich band who blur the lines of funk, soul and disco, The High Points helped to warm up the crowd and get people clapping along. Clearly recognisable to many in the crowd, they kept the mood light by making the point that they can usually be found busking outside the marketplace on Norwich’s high-street. The band seemed very down-to-earth and even stayed to chat with the crowd after their set, frequenting the merch table and selling on CDs of their funk-soul soothers. With the music thrumming through the crowd and combined with the intimate atmosphere of the Adrian Flux Waterfront venue, it was a very special experience to feel so close to ‘normal’ life and its buzz again.
The Night Café themselves entered to a palpable energy of excitement from the crowd and eased us into the night with ‘0151 Intro’, a chilled build up to their first song of the night, ‘Finders Keepers’ which stormed in with a stream of coloured lights and full-bodied sound. Frontman Sean Martin compelled the crowd and thanked them for being there, noting how packed the venue was after being sold out completely in their first tour since the pandemic, creating a real sense of joy and community in the room to be back in one place together again. Towards the middle of the set, if possible, the energy ratcheted up a further notch with the introduction of some of their most well-loved tracks, like ‘You Change With The Seasons’ which had the whole room jumping up and down in a frenzy to get as close as possible to the action on stage, my ears blasting with the beat surrounding us.
In a blazing exit to the set after the ever popular ‘Addicted’, my personal favourite, Sean Martin prompted the crowd to join a mosh pit for ‘Mixed Signals’, their most popular song. The energy coursing through the room while he commanded the stage was immense in the best way possible, with the colours of the stage lighting highlighting the band in hues of purple and pink in contrast to the heartbreak of the lyrics as the chorus got the whole crowd jumping.
As soon as it had begun, it was time to go and with a full heart and a band shirt in hand, I could only hope that any future gigs I attend could have such an intimate and encompassing feeling of shared joy for live music as this.
Written by Anna Williams
Comments