IST IST The Real Thing

 IST IST and The Youth Play at The Adrian Flux Waterfront, Norwich 9th April, 2026

IST IST all about having a good time, all the time (Pic: Creative Arts Photography) 

The IST IST band is back from their extensive European tour and their first UK stop was at The Adrian Flux Waterfront (a UEA Student Union managed venue, sponsored by a locally based specialist vehicle insurance broker) in Norwich.  Ironically, the IST IST journey into the vibrant heart of East Anglia, required them to get a replacement van after a challenge about its suitability for English roads from some uniformed bureaucrats.  The headline act only made the gig with 45 minutes to spare.  This did not unduly phase them, nor the audience, who were all pretty relaxed about things, as is mostly the way in Norfolk.

I have mentioned before how supportive the locals are of opening acts, so it was no surprise to see so many people listening attentively to The Youth Play play.  Led by the well-travelled Diego Bracho, the four piece The Youth Play have been developing their sound for just over three years. They have settled for now on a rhythm section heavy sound, with two guitars lightening the load.  Photographer Sean Owen said that they sound.. "thumpy and jangly at the same time" which I think will please the lads on their first night out before IST IST.

The Youth Play: Harrison and Harrison (Pic: Creative Arts Photography)  

Diego explained to me afterwards, that Alex's bass guitar and Fin on drums take the lead in their music, with Cure-style guitar of Harrison lightening the load. The man is already well-travelled and has taken a few turns on the way from Mexico to Europe as he studies. Unsurprisingly, the feelings of nostalgia for places and people left behind, longing for love and a place to settle, are themes he addresses in his songs, as is the deteriorating ecological state of the planet. 

The Youth Play, a name they'll possible need to reconsider as they move through their twenties, are on an exciting journey. They'll learn a fair bit on this leg of the IST IST tour, which is likely to provoke more reflection and new perspectives into their song writing. They already have an interesting set, with a couple of very strong numbers, with the storming set closing song, If We Just Ever Were, a belter.  The Youth Play are exploring the boundaries and limitations of their musical field and trying out a variety of approaches to mix things up.  I am sure they will come up with more intricate and melodic songs as their sound matures.

The artistic experiments of a young band are something the characters in IST IST will have have experienced individually and possibly together, as they sought a sound they could gel around, before they hit upon their musical formula. Nostalgia for the 1980s blend of simple synth, simple beats and easy to follow repeated lyrics is where they have arrived.  It works for them and their fans in the crowd, many of whom were probably there when the 1980s rolled in, on the back of New Wave, Punk and the availability of cheap electronic keyboards.

Mat Peters of IST IST (Pic Creative Arts Photography)

IST IST, (say it once, why say it again?), are definitely having a ball with their act. There is, thankfully, a tongue-in-cheek rock band act being played out here. Black clad, with a couple of leather jackets. The front man, Adam Houghton plays up to his role with open hand and raised palm gesticulations straight out of Key Stage 3 drama class. Houghton looks like he has stepped out of the office day job to get on tour, now he's got a break with the lads he's going to make the most of it.

The problem with the 1980s, apart from the rise of MTV and Duran Duran, was the dawn of Goth and its intense darkness.  There were a lot of bands taking themselves very seriously, romanticising the night. Drawing the curtains on sunny days, face painting with black eye shadow and making money from the misery of the Thatcher-Reagan years, was a genre. Thankfully, we had the beauty of Robert Smith's poetic lyrics in the Cure to raise our spirits.

I had listened to IST IST's latest album, Light A Bigger Fire prior to heading down to the riverside and it helped me identify some of their new material as they performed.  I do think that the new studio work does the band a disservice, because live IST IST deliver some real punch and energy on stage, by comparison.

Their new album is very polished, but the lead vocals come across as flat, like a sub-Iggy Pop 'Idiot' karaoke.  On stage, Adam Houghton, is much more human and he allows himself to express strong emotions as his powers through his songs. How he delivers the words, a slow basal, spoken word style is a vital element of their music.  Houghton has a huge part to play in the band's sound.  On the album, disappointingly, his delivery of words sounds mechanical, which becomes more than a little dull.  

IST IST have struck on a stadium sound, Reading / Leeds Rock Festival anthem-oriented approach you know will go down well with a fuelled up crowd ready for a rowdy singalong. That's where they really need to be. Piggy-backing big names in places where the crowds come for the event and have their hearts on having a good time, chanting a few choruses and enjoying another forty-minute set of strong, bouncy, numbers from whichever band is on the main stage. In that respect and with respect, that is where the IST IST concept has its place. Big crowd, big sound, part of a good day out.

In the context of The Adrian Flux Waterfront, apart from their lived experience of needing specialist vehicle cover, IST IST did their thing and their fans enjoyed themselves. For Norwich's musically curious, they came, they saw and moved on. 

As the set moved on past the half hour mark, I  found myself playing spot the look-a-like. Bass player, Andy Keating, is an exact fit what the peak-career Peter Sellers would have looked like, if pretending to be a bass playing rocker. Once that was in my head, I enjoyed Keating's throbbing bass posing tremendously. Keating was having a blast and given the importance of the bass to this band, he's perfect.

Houghton's sense of humour was less apparent. He puts his all into this thing and received a nice cheer when he bounced onto the boards a little after the band began the opener.  Unfortunately, mid-set, after he had stepped off stage behind the speakers for what, who knows, his supposed triumphal return to centre-stage met total audience indifference.  He needs to get back into that drama class. There was a mic failure during one song and Houghton merrily mouthed on while his band played on. I quite enjoyed this impromptu instrumental diversion.

Stage left, the slight figure of Mat Peters provides the musical lead, with guitar embellishments and keyboard swirls. The man might have been brought to us by Tardis straight out of 1970s California. Despite his shades, de rigueur for the front three here, with leather jacket, the man would not look out of place in the original line up of The Eagles, or accompanying Neil Young in Crazy Horse back in the day. Peters is a head-down musician, guitar face, concentrated, doing what he loves.

Joel Kay IST IST Pic: Creative Arts Photography 

Joel Kay on drums is as vital to the effectiveness of the band as Houghton's spoken lyrics.  The early 1980s did not demand much of drummers, in fact many bands ditched the sticks for programmed beats, but Kay's playing adds vibrancy and humanity to this band's performance as he drives them on from the back seat. 

If you are planning to see IST IST on tour, make sure you get there to give The Youth Play some encouragement, they'll move on, shape shift and pop up in various forms. IST IST are a rocking night out if you go with your gang and enjoy a few joint-jumping songs with easy to join in with lyrics. As with the name, IST IST utilise the poetic device of repetition in the proven formula for having a rocking good time. 

IST IST and The Youth Play are appearing at venues all over the UK and Dublin before they play Manchester on 1st May 2026 and then head off to play some European festivals. They return to play the Sheffield Rock 'n' Roll Circus Festival on 30th August 2026.

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Spencer Ide

10th April 2026