As you walked down Norwich’s King Street, you were greeted by a long orderly queue, waiting to get through the door at The Waterfront. Joining the queue quite late I was straight through the door and into the photo pit for the support act.
Kerryman Colin Andrew played some lovely traditional folk songs getting the crowd warmed up, including a cover of a Kinks song as a result of an odd ChatGPT suggestion, when asking it about Norwich’s musicians, that Dave Davies had lived in Norwich once. Not sure how it missed Beth Orton!?
Between acts I overheard some in the crowd talking about Kiefer and there was a theme of, some who didn’t realise he played music, some who saw him at latitude a couple of years ago, but mainly linking him to the ground breaking TV show 24, and his portrayal of Jack Bauer.
However soon he took the stage tonight looking very different to the clean cut government agent, instead we see, perhaps the real Kiefer, vintage telecaster around his neck, wide brimmed hat shading his eyes and a read thin scarf.
With his band already playing a distinctly Americana theme, Kiefer took the stage, joining them after a quick greeting and straight into Down Below off his new album Grey, setting the stall out that the new record continues his mixing of blues, country, rock in a distinct North American style.
Even though I’d seen it on the setlist I didn’t twig it was the song it was, until they played it, a cover of Garbage’s I’m Only Happy When It Rains, perhaps an apt song for a day which had seen the singer taking in the sights of Norwich during the day while the rain came down.
His band are a tight and well rehearsed group of experienced musicians, working their way through the setlist serving each and every song perfectly, complimenting Kiefer’s slightly rawer than on record vocals. Which I think I prefer to the slightly tweaked and polished vocal on some of his albums.
Kiefer would introduce the next song Goodbye California as a new one off the LP which releases later this month, as the title suggests it’s about his move away from the American state which had been his home for so long and made his acting career what it is.
Together the band and Kiefer would work through a set which mostly had songs from the new record, all sounding lovely in a smaller venue like the Waterfront, the choice of smaller more intimate shows, or in amazing looking venues like London’s Union Chapel the night before, show a band that aren’t chasing the biggest crowd possible, but settings that suit the music they are playing and the audience’s that will hear them.