Life ... and Nadine Shah

I wasn't intending to write up this gig, but basically it was a stunner.

The support band were from Hull and and the name sort of didn't inspire me, Life. The bassist's T-Shirt stated "It's Never Dull In Hull", and were a basic guitar/ bass / drums / vocals four piece. Their sound was excellent and they won amn initially reticient crowd over in spades. The lead singer had obviously studied Jarvis Cocker but was his own man as he declared Life "Kings of Yorkshire".

I've included the excellent "In Your Hands" and go through to their site or get their album "Popular Music" here. Their Vevo channel is here if you would like to hear more.

Then Nadine Shah appeared. Her singing voice is amazingly powerful almost divorced from her friendly geordie talking voice. Her mum and dad were in the audience in teh packed Sage Hall 2. The sound of the band ais incredibly percussive , often the guitard being just hit, and the saxophone sound recalling Van Der Graaf Generator.

A Nadine Shah gig is an experience and if you get the chance of seeing her , you need to do it as soon as possible.

She is not easy listening but she is essential listening. The song "Holiday Destination" inspiredby the self serving reaction of holiday makers when refugess wer washed ashore on a Mediterranean beach.

Ig you can't get to a gig get her albums.

Nadine Shah GOTH Girl

I've enjoyed a lot of gigs recently , but not reported them on here because the bands are big and will definitely reported elsewhere. These were the Alabama 3 at the O2 Academy and Lee Scratch Perry at The Riverside , both amazing nights, but last night was Nadine Shah at the Gateshead Old Town Hall ( with a great acronym GOTH). It's the first time I'd been here as a venue , although it had been used by the Tyneside Cinema during it's refurbishment, but I was still not too sure what to expect although I had been one for one of their Choir programs.

Support band were Retriever , a local band and friends of Nadine, they played a half hour set, and the audience rightly loved them , the guitar treatment made sound as though it was in another building , but in a good way. I liked them and would happily pay to go and see them. A 4 piece with Jesus and Mary Chain Influences I found various articles but they're on Twitter here, and have a couple of EPS and singles out at the moment.

Nadine Shah Onstage at GOTH

Nadine Shah came on at 9 O' Clock to an acoustic loop based "Nothing Else To Do" from the new album Fast Food much to the crowd's enjoyment. Nadine's voice is deep and mesmerising and needs almost no accompaniment , but the music she and the band provide and are mesmerising slabs of drone excellence embellished with sounds notes and riffs that leave you amazed and stunned. I've been a fan since first hearing Aching Bones from her first album "Love Your Dum and Mad" which also got a run out last night along with the singles Stealing Cars and the closer "Fool" from the new album. The set was brilliant and the setting was amazing. Nadine was emotional as it was a hometown return , and she admitted to being nervous , but last night just confirnmed her position of one of my favourite female artists. While her look owes a little to Robert Palmer's backing singers on Addicted To Love crossed with Siouixsie her warmth and crowd engagement was wonderful.





I think she is already in with Jordan Reyne , PJ Harvey and Siouxsie as one of my greatest female artists, and I enjoyed this gig knowing that the next time she will probably be on the main stage at the Sage. The sound was amazing and the band were brilliant , and anyone not there missed a truly amazing night, although they can still buy the albums which are both amazing and probably unlike anything you will have heard. A great night and a privilege to be there

6 Music Festival Day 3 - With A Baggy Finale

PSB at the 6 Music Festival at the Sage

This was the main day that I wanted to see , though every day was worth going to see. Today was great because it was shared with a lot of friends who I went with , as well as a few who I didn't know were going. We started with an attempted lunch at the Central who unfortunately ran out of food due to the overspill for the 6 Music Festival.

We then went for coffee at The Baltic before wandering into the Sage for the first act. It turned out that John Hopkins the headliner in Hall 2 had pulled out resulting in lots of clashes for me. British Sea Power, Nadine Shah (the stand in act and so brilliant) , and King Creosote to start off with , then Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Wire and Gaz Coombes next up and the night finished with a choice of The Charlatans , The Maccabees and Teleman . This is just my own personal tastes but as I said in my last post Festivals just mean you miss out on some good stuff because , in your opinion, there's better stuff to see. This festival worked extremely well because it's still very cold outside and the festival was completely inside in The Sage.

The only problem is that the concourse stage resulted in a crushed crowd for the popular acts such as Public Service Broadcasting, they need to think about re siting the Concourse Stage , maybe at the West End so that you can use the whole of the concourse to watch the gig.

Anyway like yesterdays post this was my choice of viewing and listening:

British Sea Power:

 This was the first difficult decision of the day especially given that Nadine Shah was now playing . I caught some of King Creosote while helping my friend Bethany get her guitar and bags to to the cloakroom after being escorted there by security, They seemed to be under the impression that she was some kind of guerrilla busker!

Anyway I went into Hall 1 and  British Sea Power were already under way accompanied by on stage flora although the fauna was absent. The sound all over the Sage is the best I've heard anywhere and British Sea Power used it to full advantage.

I must confess , despite owning several albums , I don't know any songs by British Sea Power apart from "Waving Flags" , just love allowing the whole album to wash over me, and their set was treated in the same way. Very powerful rock, and a brilliant start to the night.

Gaz Coombes:

A lot of people thought Gaz Coombes would be "all right". About fifteen minutes in they were shoe horning people into seats. Gaz and the band were not highlighted on stage , but the songs were fantastic and I think a lot of people will be ordering a copy of Matador on the back of this performance. I can name check songs such as Buffalo , 20/20 and Detroit because I've been playing the album for a few weeks after hearing songs on BBC 6 Music.

The sound was amazing and the crowd, like me , loved every minute. By the end of this set you had had your moneys worth for the festival.

Neneh Cherry:

Neneh Cherry had the second smallest band I'd seen at the festival, just here , drums and keyboards / electronics. Despite the minimal line up the sound filled the hall and the songs had the crowd going. Her music is beat heavy but she does sing and her father ,  trumpeter Don who died twenty years ago, would have been so proud and impressed with her.

Public Service Broadcasting:

This was on the concourse and because so many people wanted to see it, it ended up with an , in my opinion, dangerous crush in front of the stage. I moved out to the side and enjoyed another brilliant set featuring excellent visuals , material from the new album "The Race For Space" culminating with the now classics "Spitfire" and "Everest". It's not often you get educational great music , but with these guys you do.

The Charlatans:

 The final set of the festival for me and Hall 1 was so packed that I ended up in the back row at the top of level 3. The band looked a long way off but immediately the crowd were "up for it, mixing new material with classics like "One To Another" , "The Only One I Know" and "Country Boy" before finishing in a glorious finale of "Sproston Green"

A brilliant end to a brilliant festival.  Now it's time to come back down to earth.