Calva Louise Showed Norwich Who The Real Oportunista Is!

On Monday 20th of April Calva Louise showed The Adrian Flux Waterfront, Norwich why the pan-continental alternative rockers totally deserve all the hype they’re getting right now.

Knife Bride

First to hit the stage were supporting act Knife Bride. Hailing from Brighton and pioneering a “nu-gothika” genre; Knife Bride kicked things off hard as soon they got on stage, with Craig Glynn (bass) shouting for the crowd to come closer to the front while Sean Windle (guitar) was all too happy to join his bandmate in hyping up the crowd. As soon the music started, the room was moving along and head banging to vocalist Mollie Clack’s voice, with some looking captivated by her dance moves. As all this is happening on-stage, I managed to peek through a little gap between Mollie and Craig to see just how much drummer Sean Millsopp is enjoying the chaos in this intimate venue. 

Knife Bride played a mix of older songs, including ‘Smother (Make Me Suffer)’, ‘Fang Dummy’ and ‘Alone At The Altar’, along with newer songs ‘Crucify’ and ‘Worth’ that had been released on their new EP Sorry About The Plague. The general atmosphere was just as you’d expect if you were told to imagine “nu-gothika”; chaotic, theatrical and loud. Altogether it was an interesting set and I enjoyed the dancing and theatrics mixed with unique heavy music. 

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Calva Louise

Second to take the stage were of course the multi-genre, pan-continental yet London based band Calva Louise, blending alternative rock, metal and electronica. The entire room, including me, seemed to be seriously anticipating this set, and the band got a great reception when Jess Allanic (Vocals, guitar and keyboard), Alizon Taho (Bass and backing vocals) and Ben Parker (Drums and backing vocals) walked on stage and went to their respective spots, ready to give their all to the packed Waterfront Studio room. They started their set off with ‘Tunnel Vision’ while in the background there were two banks of screens playing words and videos to accompany the music; while I do think it added a pretty cool atmosphere to the entire set, I did find myself now and then finding them a little bit of a distraction in such a tightly packed venue. 

The songs that followed were; ‘W.T.F’ and ‘El Umbral’ (which Jess made sure to announce before hand would be performed in her mother tongue). When watching Calva Louise I found the blend of languages, with three different first languages shared between the members on stage, quite refreshing because overall I always think it’s a great thing to hear music sang in other languages. The crowd seemed to share this feeling too as there was a brilliant cheer as Jess announced it. The other songs that were played included: ‘Third Class Citizen’, ‘Under The Skin’ and ‘Con Corazon’, which again was warmly welcomed when it started playing. 

Throughout the show, Jess would thank the crowd for coming to see them and to share with those that didn’t know that, while they are a British band; every band member is from a different country, namely Venezuela, France and New Zealand. As an immigrant myself getting stuck in to the arts, their story is a personally inspiring one. Finishing the set on a real high was none other than, in my humble opinion, their biggest song ‘Oportunista’! It was clear for all to see that Calva Louise enjoyed playing for the crowd in Norwich, with this energy being given right back by the fans in attendance.

I had an absolutely amazing time watching Calva Louise. I must admit that this was my first time seeing them, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I did not go home disappointed! I hope to catch them again soon as they are an absolutely amazing band to watch. You can still see them on their current tour at the dates and locations below.

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Calva Louise UK Tour 2026:

April 23rd: The Underworld, London
April 25th: Clwb Ifor Bach (Noizzefest), Cardiff
April 26th: Rough Trade, Bristol
April 28th: The Joiners, Southampton
April 30th: Anarchy Brew Co, Newcastle
May 1st: The Garage (Attic Bar), Glasgow
May 3rd: YES (Pink Room), Manchester