The Duke Spirit – Norwich Arts Centre, 17/11/07 [Photo Review]

19 November 2007, 12:45 | Written by Rich Thane

(Photos)

Apparently, the last time The Duke Spirit were due to play the Arts Centre in Norwich, guitarist Luke Ford fell ill and was rushed to the local hospital forcing the band to cancel the show. Second time lucky then, and it seems that the punters who were let down two years ago are back for more. And rightly so. The venue is the perfect setting for The Duke Spirit. It’s a beautifully converted church, with the acoustics still intact allowing the mammouth sounds that the Spirit conjure up to reverberate around the room, shaking and stirring the senses. They played a wonderful set too. Extremely heavy on new material from their current Ex-Voto Ep and forthcoming sophomore Neptune, you didn’t see one person complaining though. The new songs have a fresh, focused confidence about them and feel instantly familiar. “This Ship Was Built To Last”, “The Step and The Walk” and “Send A Little Love Token” sure fire future live favourites, but it was “Lassoo” that was the song of the evening. The band tearing the living daylights out of it, whilst Leila Moss cavorted around the stage like some possessed she-devil. Mesmerising.

A special nod too, goes to the support bands. 2Hot2Sweat – a charming boy/girl outfit that can only be described as bubblegum electro pop with added sailor outfits (seriously). Creepy Morons – another two piece, but the racket that these boys create is simply alarming. Fans of The Black Keys and Archie Bronson Outfit would be wise to check these guys out.