Piston ‘Planet Rock Roadstars Tour’ – The Waterfront, Norwich

By Paul Monkhouse.

Piston at The Waterfront, Norwich. Photography by Laurence Harvey.

Very few bands have had the hype that Midlands five-piece Piston has received, even fewer matching the tremendous word of mouth, whilst a fraction of those exceed all expectations. With the release of their blazing debut album and some incendiary live shows up and down the length of the country, the band fall very much into this last category and are set to be filling arenas and headlining festivals in the not too distant future.

Caught as the opening act in Norwich to the constantly rotating feast that was this Autumn's ‘Planet Rock Roadstars Tour’ their early slot set the bar almost impossibly high for their fellow road warriors Gorilla Riot and Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin’ Stones to follow.

The opening cry of ‘‘C’mon c’mon, feels so right. C’mon c’mon, tonight’s the night’’ there couldn’t have been a better song to kick the forty-minute set off with than ‘Dynamite’, singer Rob Angelico instantly becoming Master of Ceremonies. Eschewing braided coat and top hat for a Piston vest and ponytail the frontman was a constant ball of energy, never seemingly stopping as if the stage was red hot lava and he had to keep himself from burning whilst by his side former Inglorious guitarist Jack Edwards was equally frenetic, throwing shapes in a blur of hair and flying fingers across his fretboard.

Barely catching their breath, the bar-room boogie meets Gospel bawling steamrolling swagger of single ‘Rainmaker’ pounded the audience as the curious moved to the front and newcomers were instantly converted to these preachers of all that rocks and rolls.

The snotty and defiant ‘One More Day’ sees Edwards and fellow guitarist Luke Allatt hammer their instruments into submission as ice-cool bass player Stuart Egan and manic drummer Brad Newlands bring an intense and deep groove to underpin it all. Newlands then got the chance to shine again during a short but sweet solo spot (presumably giving the rest of the band a chance to pause and recover from their exertions) before they launched into the anthemic ‘Blow it Away’, it’s instantly catchy chorus and second verse giving way to a scorching solo by Edwards.

The songwriting is incredibly tight with not an ounce of fat to be seen as each track gets in, does the job and gets straight out again, something the band have in common with rock legends AC/DC whose rarely heard 1978 ‘Powerage’ track ‘Gone Shootin’’ they raucously cover next as an unexpected bonus. It speaks a lot about the quality of Piston’s writing that this doesn’t eclipse their own songs but fits right in with the rest of the set.

The foot is taken off the gas for the lighter waving (should such a thing be allowed in an indoor venue these days) 70s flavoured classic rock ballad ‘Carry Me Home’, a song that would stand quite happily alongside the Allman Brothers output being full of Southern Rock drama and passion. Following an extended instrumental intro, ‘Go Now’ is all strident Stonesy blues and its nagging chorus immediately has heads bobbing and legs shaking in approval. The killer one-two punch of the pounding ‘Leave if You Dare’ and a spiralling ‘Into the Night’, complete with yet another stadium-sized hook seals the deal before the band close the set with another cover in the shape of ‘Proud Mary’.

Although many artists have performed the song before, Piston seems to have made this very much their own and, as they wring every last drop of sweat out of the audience, leave the stage to the ragged and enthusiastic cheering of the hoarse throated masses. Many will say they were there that night, witnessing a club gig by future `superstars, but not everyone will be able to replicate that unassailable expression of those who truly witnessed such a dazzling display. Piston: the future is theirs.