Another Sold Out NME Tour show in Norwich, with doors opening as early as 18:30, the excitement and anticipation of the young and trendy crowd was clear for all to see. With each band getting 40 plus minutes to impress us, it was almost like having four headliners in one night. First up was The Vaccines. A band who have excited me for a while now having only heard a handful of songs (a little over two and half minutes long each), I was confident they would be the real deal, and they didn't fail to deliver. With a heavily charged energetic set, song after song of great alternative rock music. The Vaccines are still a very new band (having not even been together for a year yet) but it is clear to all who have seen them live that this band is special and will be around for the duration. Recent singles ' Wreckin Bar ' and ' Post Break Up Sex ' got the expected hot and excited reception, but it was songs ' Blow It Up ' , ' If You Wanna ' and ' Norgaard ' that really convinced the crowd that this band would have probably been headliners had the tour been six months further down the line. The Vaccines sound so assured and established already with a real 'Strokes' slash 'Kasabian' feel about them, as well as just playing great guitar music, this was definately a night to remember, a real " I was there " moment.
Second on the bill was Everything Everything. Leading the way in the new Indie Disco Jerk genre, EE treat us to all the future fizzy pop hits off their debut album ' Man Alive '. Continuing from the Feel good vibes from The Vaccines, the lively crowd dance their way through recent singles ' Photoshop Handsome ', 'MY KZ, UR BF ' and ' Schoolin '. Even the futurehead-sy ' Suffragette Suffragette ' still stands strong in an ever increasingly hard to scale down set list. The only time the crowd slow down is during more epic and emotional tracks ' Tin (the manhole) ' and ' NASA is on your side '.
Third to go on was Magnetic Man. Probably the biggest surprise on the tour and the band most likely to question NME's thinking, but with Dub Step really hitting commercial highs over the last two years, it shouldnt have been a surprise at all. Magnetic Man's live show is all about the basslines and the lights. Made up of Benga, Skream and Artwork (all successful in their own right) they produce a dazzling show of noise and vision that leaves you feeling like you have been raving all night. If there was any doubt before hand about why Magnetic Man were on the tour, it is soon forgotten as they blast tracks from their self titled album including ' Fire ', ' Getting Nowhere ', ' I Need Air ' and the now anthemic Katy B led ' Perfect Stranger '. Having turned most peoples heads and gained more new fans than anyone else on the tour, Magnetic Man leave us feeling slightly exhausted from the whirlwind sounds that penetrated right through our bodies.
However, there is barely enough time to recover as a very punctual Crystal Castles arrive onstage at 22:10. If you thought Magnetic Man took a lot out of you, Crystal Castles were made headliners just to finish us off. The Fact Alice Glass is still on crutches from a recent tour injury doesnt stop them cranking the noise levels up even more. They suck us in, chew us up and spit us out all over the University floor. Drawing from a wealth of tracks off both their albums, all the fans favourites are included. ' Alice Practice ', ' Love And Caring ', ' Celestica ' and ' Not In Love ' all crush the crowd with the raw power that only Crystal Castles know how to provide. Personally tarcks such as ' Doe Deer ' and ' Pap Smear ' make my night as they give you a real feel of invincibilty. The Lights that flash and blind compliment the noise so well, definately not a place for those who have epilepsy. I doubt this will be the last time CC are in Norwich as they have really gathered a cult following now, which is true almost everywhere they go. When you think of previous NME tours which once boasted lineups of The Killers, Bloc Party, The Futureheads and Kaiser Chiefs, I get the feeling we will be looking back at tonights tour as one of the greats in a couple of years time.