Reviewed by Adam Williams
Marina and the Diamonds arrived in Newcastle for an intimate gig at Digital’s Other Rooms. Hotly tipped as a star of 2010, her recent single Hollywood stormed into top 20 and she’s become something of a Radio 1 favourite in recent months, no doubt boosting her popularity.
Early in the gig she admits that only 12 people showed up to her gig in the city last year, this time the venue is packed full. Romping through her debut album, she demonstrated her cultured vocals and quirky lyrics to an adoring crowd, kicking off with one of her stronger album tracks, Girls.
Performances of I Am Not A Robot and Shampain also impressed while a break in the middle of the set gave her a chance to truly show her vocal talents with an acoustic performance of Numb. The backing band returned as she zipped through the rest of her EP, and left stage leaving the audience wanting more. Sadly there wasn’t even time for an encore, merely the impression that the venue owners wanted the crowd to move on as quickly as possible.
Her eccentricity is often reminiscent of Kate Nash but her more varied themes set her apart from the pack. Unlike Nash and the often compared Florence and the Machine she has the likeable personality to match. No doubt her next visit to the city will be in a much bigger venue.
4/5
Showing posts with label Other Rooms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Other Rooms. Show all posts
Monday, 1 March 2010
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Good Shoes @ The Other Rooms, Newcastle
Reviewed by Christian Allen
It’s been over two years since Good Shoes released their debut album, Think before You Speak, and 3 years since they’re early demos dominated British music website discussion boards. For a band who have been extremely quiet throughout most of 2008 and 2009 tonight’s turn out is testament to their sound, especially in the stronghold for lad-rock that is Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. This considered the current tour is quite a change for a band that, in 2007, headlined the 2,000 capacity Astoria. It’s an opportunity for the band to almost start from scratch and play those kind of back of pub venues full of sweaty teens that their music led’s itself to.
Lead singer Rhys Jones fully embraces the intimate setting throughout the set, warning me in the interview prior to the gig that he’s prepared to join the crowd as many times as it takes to get them animated and rowdy. Despite the stagnant crowd’s best efforts the band remains upbeat and uses the opportunity to play a selection of tracks off the impending 2nd album ‘No Hope, No Future’. It’s difficult to judge them after one listen, and with the new wave of tracks ‘The Way My Heart Beats’ already seems like a classic. ‘Under Control’ has quickly found itself a crowd favourite and a couple of new tracks show the band perhaps going for a more angular, distorted sound with this follow up.
In with the new tracks were the expected, established hits from the debut album, Ice Age, Small Town Girl and Morden all sounding sharper and speeder than ever. An exuberant, enthusiastic gig marks the return of Good Shoes and on tonight’s evidence the band’s brand of jaunty indie pop look set to find it’s home once again on national radio playlists and in larger venues across the U.K.
It’s been over two years since Good Shoes released their debut album, Think before You Speak, and 3 years since they’re early demos dominated British music website discussion boards. For a band who have been extremely quiet throughout most of 2008 and 2009 tonight’s turn out is testament to their sound, especially in the stronghold for lad-rock that is Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. This considered the current tour is quite a change for a band that, in 2007, headlined the 2,000 capacity Astoria. It’s an opportunity for the band to almost start from scratch and play those kind of back of pub venues full of sweaty teens that their music led’s itself to.
Lead singer Rhys Jones fully embraces the intimate setting throughout the set, warning me in the interview prior to the gig that he’s prepared to join the crowd as many times as it takes to get them animated and rowdy. Despite the stagnant crowd’s best efforts the band remains upbeat and uses the opportunity to play a selection of tracks off the impending 2nd album ‘No Hope, No Future’. It’s difficult to judge them after one listen, and with the new wave of tracks ‘The Way My Heart Beats’ already seems like a classic. ‘Under Control’ has quickly found itself a crowd favourite and a couple of new tracks show the band perhaps going for a more angular, distorted sound with this follow up.
In with the new tracks were the expected, established hits from the debut album, Ice Age, Small Town Girl and Morden all sounding sharper and speeder than ever. An exuberant, enthusiastic gig marks the return of Good Shoes and on tonight’s evidence the band’s brand of jaunty indie pop look set to find it’s home once again on national radio playlists and in larger venues across the U.K.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
