Music > Live Reviews

The Pigeon Detectives

EPIC Studios

14/11/23

So, Monday is now officially the new Saturday. Thus declared The Pigeon Detectives' singer Matt Bowman at last night's packed headlining gig at Epic Studios, clearly thrilled to be back in Norwich, and clearly impressed with Epic Studios. The band are touring the UK in support of 'TV Show', their sixth album in a career that spans almost twenty years, but which really kicked off in the late noughties with two top ten albums, 'Wait For Me' and 'Emergency'.

Opening support came from Norfolk's Youth Killed It, the Norwich-based grunge-tinged rock quartet with shed-loads of attitude and energy, and fronted by Burberry cap toting Jack Murphy on vocals. I first saw them at one of Craig Hill's Tilting Sky Takeovers at The Waterfront back in 2016, and have revelled in their infectious swagger ever since. Tonight, once again, the lads did themselves proud.

A new name to me, though, was Ellur, a singer songwriter from Halifax currently making waves as tour support for The Pigeon Detectives, and her return to Norwich after supporting Embrace at the Nick Rayns LCR earlier this Autumn. She has justifiably attracted a growing fanbase on Spotify and YouTube, releasing a clutch of singles and an EP over the past two years. Seven of these, together with the as-yet unreleased 'Boys', made up her impressive Epic set, delivered with a live three-piece band of keys, guitar and drums. Charismatic and confident, her voice switched from emotional and dreamy to up-tempo and anthemic, and together with her ability to connect confidently with her audience, she will have won over many more fans tonight.

And so to the main event. Despite not having had a Top 40 single since 2008, The Pigeon Detectives still manage to pack a shed-load of familiar material into their 15 song headlining set, and yet still manage to hold back 'I'm Not Sorry', their highest charting single, for the encore. It is a non-stop, high energy performance, with singer Matt Bowman repeatedly launching himself into the air with aerial scissor kicks off the drumkit, climbing confidently off the stage and onto the crowd barriers, swinging the microphone above his head to within inches of Epic Studios' expensive overhead lights, and also destroying most of the monitor covers in the process.

But the crowd loves it – the band played at the Waterfront no less than five times over a ten year period, and it is clear that many of tonight's audience have followed them 'over-the-water' to be at Epic Studios tonight. One person even has a Pigeon Detectives tattoo on his arm – a display of Pigeon Detective loyalty that doesn't escape Matt Bowman's attention, and the young man is rewarded with his pick of any item off the merch stand.

Obviously the band have a new album to promote, and the setlist includes five tracks from 'TV Show', opening with 'Falling to Receive', and including lead single 'Lovers Come And Lovers Go' and also the title track. And yet these new tracks sound just as good as some of the classic hits – energetic, rugged, and perfect for any night of the week. Obviously it is the big indie bangers like 'I Find Out' (with its infectious 'going out with' refrain), 'This Is An Emergency', and 'Take Her Back' that get the biggest reaction, but the levels of energy and enthusiasm (both on and off stage) prove that The Pigeon Detectives are still up for a grand night out. Whatever night it is.

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