Heaven's Basement / Buffalo Summer / Skarlett Riot

The name Heaven's Basement is a name which has graced many line-ups of festivals which I've attended. Having heard good things about the band, I'd always told myself I would check them out, but for whatever reason I'd never got around to it. So when I noticed they were coming to Norwich, "why not?" I thought to myself and I'm glad I did.



The Waterfront Studio is a great new addition to Norwich's Waterfront venue and was packed for this sold out gig. Opening the show were Skarlett Riot who just came across as average. Poor sound didn't help but musically there was nothing to set them apart from the rest of the pack. The longer they were on stage the better they got, but even then not enough to distract me from thinking about how tiny the singer was.

Our next support act Buffalo Summer however showed great promise during their stint on the compact stage. The Welsh four-piece enjoy a growing reputation following supporting slots with the likes of Ugly Kid Joe and Skid Row and this tour will only go to further said reputation.



Their influences are clear; Led Zeppelin, Free, Lynyrd Skynyrd, they're all there, and that's no bad thing in my opinion. Their blues infused southern rock formula worked wonders with the sold out crowd and songs like 'Down To The River' were clear winners. Buffalo Summer are definitely on the 'one to watch' list and will surely make their presence felt in the coming years.

Having risen from the ashes of Roadstar, Heaven's Basement have been touring constantly for five years now. With Radio 1 airplay and much praise for their debut album 'Filthy Empire', their hard work finally appears to be paying off. This is evidenced by the fact this show was a sell out as it appears a number of shows on this tour will be.

With the crowd and the band overflowing with energy, Heaven's Basement put on a hell of a show. There appears to be a real passion in this group for what they do and it's that passion that has seen them survive a number of line-up adjustments over the years. This line-up at last appears settled, to the point that they have finally released their full debut in the form of the already mentioned 'Filthy Empire'.



'Filthy Empire' provided the backbone of the set list as you would expect, with a handful of older tracks thrown in to fill the show out. The likes of 'Fire, Fire', 'Heartbreaking Son Of A Bitch' and 'Nothing Left To Lose' are ready made fan favourites and received big reactions from the hot and sweaty audience. Recent single 'I Am Electric' provided a real highlight as well and will surely be a staple in their shows for years to come.

Singer Aaron Buchanan is the newest member of the band, but you wouldn't tell as he lead the line with ease. Buchanan took time to regale the crowd with tales of drunken antics in this very venue and also provided a great moment late on, scaling the audience in order to hang from the rafters over them, before crowd surfing back to the stage; a truly rock n' roll moment from a truly rock n’ roll band.

An encore of 'Unbreakable' and 'Executioner's Day' only went to serve as the icing on the cake that was a great gig. This show was evidence that rock is not dead, it's not dying, it's living, breathing and there is a new wave of great bands ready to emerge. Heaven's Basement and Buffalo Summer have great futures ahead and hey, with hard work perhaps Skarlett Riot could as well. In fact, Skarlett Riot should look no further than Heaven's Basement for inspiration, it may have taken years of relentless touring and honing their craft but Heaven's Basement are on the cusp of greatness.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.