Waterparks and Stand Atlantic

Two of the brightest pop-punk bands brought their A-game to the Waterfront as part of their joint European jaunt.

Stand Atlantic kicked off the night with their own brand of rock and punk, the Sydney based Australian three piece had performed in Norwich before (most notably in support of State Champs) and it is fair to say they had a strong following in the crowd.

Opening with ‘Hair Out’ they immediately get the majority of the audience nodding along and, in some cases, arms being thrown aloft and feet being launched from the floor.

Lead vocalist Bonnie Fraiser knows how to work a crowd and doesn’t take long to whip those in the front couple of rows into a frenzy.

Performing a stellar thirteen songs with the majority taken from last year’s extremely popular record ‘f.e.a.r’ Stand Atlantic certainly pushed the boundaries of their sound, given they had travelled so far to be here it was a set that certainly won over any doubts that might have lingered.

Songs like ‘kill[h]er’ and ‘deathwish’ were standout moments from one of the hardest working bands around. Surely it won’t be long before they are back, this time headlining the UEA and other arenas around the country, good luck to them.

Speaking of hard-working bands, tonight’s headline act Waterparks have been around the block more than a few times.

Tonight, they are back in Norwich with not only a bucket full of solid songs but also the opportunity to learn British slang and pronunciation too.

The Property Tour rolled into the fine city towards the very end of a long European road and you would absolutely forgive the three piece if they showed signs of your fatigue.

Thankfully this was not the case whatsoever, they look fresh and genuinely seemed excited to be with us.

The group currently consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Awsten Knight, backing vocalist and lead guitarist Geoff Wigington, and backing vocalist and drummer Otto Wood. And it was Awsten who really engaged with his audience. Two songs in we taught him how to say Norwich and also reminded him that yes, he had been here before, seven years ago in fact. The number of times this band tour you couldn’t blame him for not remembering.

He was also told that he was “Leng” which had both Awsten and myself scratching our heads, apparently it means “fit” who knew?

There were moments of romance too (a couple whose first date was a Waterparks gig let him know they were going to get married) no pressure for anyone else on a date tonight then!

The songs stood up to the crowd interaction/entertainment with a full-on pop-punk performance of strength and confidence.

Promoting their most recent record ‘Intellectual Property’ the trio had the crowd eating out of their hands with sing-a-long tracks like ‘Brainwashed’ and a beautiful moment in the slower, tender ‘Closer’ naturally the lights from mobile phones filled the room, how very modern, how very Waterparks.

Crowd favourite ‘I Miss Having Sex but at Least I Don't Wanna Die Anymore’ was greeted with sheer joy and enthusiasm, voices singing along and lungs filled, hearts were full, this is what good music does to the soul.

‘Turbulent’ ‘Sneaking Out Of Heaven’ and set closer ‘Funeral Grey’ were all greeted like old friends, people were having fun. And that’s what Waterparks are all about. Having fun. And we all had fun in abundance.