The Kabeedies + We Can’t Dance + Vagabond Trills @ Arts Centre, Norwich

The Vagabond Trills are three pretty girls with acoustic guitars from Manchester, and sound exactly how you might expect three pretty girls with acoustic guitars from Manchester to sound. Their sickly sweet stylings backed by a minimal drum kit, sound reminiscent of The Pipettes sixties enthused girl-group harmonies, albeit with slightly more gravitas.

Any band that has to urge their supposed die-hard fan base into participating by shouting ‘let’s see those hands in the air!’ at every available moment immediately looses brownie points in my book, and that exactly what We Can’t Dance’s bassist does. Sure enough, the crowd deftly respond, and throughout the gig they are vocal and supportive, but it is hard to see why. The band’s collection of bland indie pop tunes never really go anywhere, and the choruses (which never really amount to anything more than two vocalists singing something plain instead of the usual one) are devoid of catchy hooks of any kind.

The Kabeedies bound onto the stage to the flood of rapturous applause and cheers that only their die-hard local following could supply, and rip straight into their back catalogue of cheeky frenetic pop blasts. Songs such as ‘Fuzzy Felt’ and ‘Lovers Ought To’ from their debut album ‘Rumpus’ segue into each other at breakneck speed, barely leaving a pause for breath. Evan, Katie and Rory excitedly bounce off each other whilst Fab sternly and patiently keeps the beat towards the back of the stage. The only breaks from character come in the form of a new song which fails to tick all the usual Kabeedie boxes, and a somewhat ill-advised Atomic Kitten cover. But a rousing rendition of new single ‘Jitterbug,’ complete with cellist and a whole host of friendly backing singers, and a powerful ‘Petit Filous,’ bring a fitting close to the evening, and a fitting start to what promises to be a high-energy tour for The Kabeedies.

Photo credit: David Gray