I have just got into bed from a cracker of a sweaty gig at Brudenell! My feet ache and I have a sore neck from the head banging I took part in! I have also dosed up on antihistamines because as usual I have a sneezing fit at Brudenell! I love the mustiness of the place but it doesn’t half make my eyes itch!
Anyway enough with my current health issues!
The night started with a quick pint and a game of pool with my friend Nat, the game was close but as usual I lost! We then saw some kids had started to que so we joined in and soon got to the front. We were in the second row, and had a perfect view of the cluttered stage that was full of various guitars and two drum kits. The room was already starting to heat up and rather worryingly a girl to my left fainted, but was soon helped up by everyone around her.
The first act to come on was a mellow singer called Jon Jackson. He had a lovely voice and I quite enjoyed the first song, however he came across quite shy as he sat sideways to the audience with his long main covering his face. Sadly the young crowd around me soon lost interest and rudely started to speak over the music, especially some kids in the front row infront of him. The following songs sounded a bit samey but I think he had sound/tuning issues and he stopped a couple of times to politely apologise and to tell a joke about Noddy being a cunt.
Following from Jon Jackson was a trio called Shuga. I was quite impressed with this band and the front women had a interesting depth to her voice. They played a few songs too and thankfully caught the crowds attention. They’re homemade merch on the merch stand at the back amused me too, I love a bit of DIY!
After the Shuga set, the stage started to transform and to my disappointment lost its second drum kit! However the drum kit that was left was pretty special as it had a cartoon of a blonde girl blowing a big pink bubble whilst signing the piece sign. The cartoon also wore a cute blue tshirt with the words Girl Power on it referencing Kate Nash’s interest in feminism.
In no time at all Nash’s all girl band started to emerge from the curtains that covers up Brudenell’s dark tunnel at the back of the stage. The band all wore black matching tshirts with a heart with an arrow through it. The audience soon came to life as Nash herself appeared through the material. She was dressed in a laced top, a small black dress, fishnets and checkered Doc Martins, to finish this look off she wore a cat eared headband on her head. Very cute!
She started with a couple of new songs, All talk and Death proof which was a good start to the show off because this tour is all about getting her new material out there. These songs followed up with the song Kiss that girl from her previous album, the crowd however were weirdly quiet and reserved up to the point where Kate said that we were ‘quiet for a northen crowd!’ She soon got us involved with a couple of new songs Convensional girl and fri-end, as one had a ‘whoooy’ melody she wanted us to sing along to. Higher plane followed and this put some movement in the crowd at last!
Following the set list, new songs under the names of Are you there sweetheart?, Part heart and 3am soon followed. These songs did merge slightly in to one, but admittingly I was preoccupied taking photographs as the girl infront of me decided she was too hot and left an open space below Kate. I jumped at the chance and spent the rest of the night gazing up and catching a few moments of awkward eye contact with Nash herself! Why do I get so shy!?
The following song was a cover called My chinchilla, this was my faveourit of the song of night. It was originally by a band called Cub, who I no doubt will be paying a visit to on Youtube very soon. The Foundations riff soon filled the room and Brudenell came to life to the lines, ‘You said I must eat so many lemons, ‘cause I am so bitter.’ However I still felt that the energy in the crowd was lacking.
Next up there were songs that went under the names, So cool so freaky, Oh, Oh my god and Grrrl gang. One of these songs was a rap (I apologise about not remembering which one) and it was awesome! I think that track will be the one I would be most looking forward to listening to on her new album.
The song Underestimate girl that was released a few days ago soon followed. Despite some of the negative response to this song, I can honestly say it sounds so much better live! It goes well with her new material which is not all ‘shouty shouty.’ I personally believe that I have heard a good mixture tonight, and you can still reconise the roots of her work dating back to Made of bricks. (for all of you worried fans scared of change)
Finally Nash played a song called Lullaby for an insomaniac. This was a classic Kate Nash song, and everyone who turned up at the gig early got lyric sheets to sing along to. This was a nice touch because it must be hard for an artist to come out and play new songs infront of a crowd after two successful albums. It is brave of her to get new material out there instead of playing a safe setlist of songs. The song sheet idea was a success as everyone followed the words.
The crowd soon called Kate back on to stage, however this time she appeared alone. She patted her chest gently to vibrate her voice and sang a beautiful little poem that filled the venue. The song was called Sister, and this for me showed off her lyrical talent that she is known for.
For me tonight was for Kate to test new material and to prove that stepping out of your comfort zone is important. I will ignore the comments of people who are saying she is copying the riot grrrl scene, because she is not. She is inspired by the riot grrl scene and the other musical influences that has inspired her work. She is not the only act to do this, infact everyone does it. It is also not a completely new development in sound because she has always had a punky twist to her work. I think it is good to push your setlist, it gets people talking and even though not everyone liked her new song, it certainly did get her some attention!
0 comments:
Post a Comment