Psychedelic Porn Crumpets in Norwich

Aussie psych-rock quintet Psychedelic Porn Crumpets once again braved the journey to the UK and Europe this summer after having to re-arrange their earlier dates when frontman Jack McEwan lost a scrap with a dog in Glasgow. This time however, they stopped by my humble city of Norwich for a chaotic evening of energetic guitar-y goodness, bringing with them Coventry-hailing indie outfit FEET.

Despite scheduling delays due to England’s semi-final match in the Euros on the day, when FEET eventually took to the stage there was a definite buzz in the room. The five-piece had an air of confidence about them from the second they took the stage, and with their energetic, groove-driven indie-rock sound going down a treat with the Waterfront crowd, its easy to see why they were picked as the sole opener for the tour. The next half hour or so brought lively track after lively track, and combined with that signature British nonchalance popularised by bands like U2 and Radiohead in the 90s Brit-Rock craze, FEET’s set went down an absolutely treat and brought the energy the Norwich crowd needed on the gloomy Wednesday night.

After the eventual conclusion of the footy, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets began in their signature fashion – an operatic serenade by the infamous Rodney the tortoise – before pouring onto the stage to an eruption of applause. The energy in the room immediately skyrocketed, as the opening riff of ‘Tally-Ho’ took off, with a bouncing mosh pit in the centre of the room that scarcely let up for the majority of the headline set. The Crumpets continued to tear through banger after banger from their expansive catalogue, mixing in new tracks from last year’s ‘Fronzoli’ like ‘(I’m a Kadaver) Alakazam’ and the wonderfully named ‘Hot! Heat! Wow! Hot!’ with fan-favourites like ‘Found God In A Tomato’ and ‘November’ off their first project ‘High Visceral’ from almost 10 years ago now.

The prolific psych-rockers had a deservedly crazy reception, and being joined once again by bassist Jamie Reynolds from British group Airways, their stage presence was a perfect mix of captivating and downright silly – which is of course on-brand. Closing out the night with huge tracks ‘Cornflake’ and ‘Hymn For a Droid’ left the Norwich crowd sweaty yet fulfilled, and as my second time seeing them in the city – the Waterfront being a much bigger venue than their previous visit – its clear to see that PPC have still got it, and I’m left once again eagerly awaiting their return.