Written for NottinghamLIVE - find original review here.
As the Nottingham Contemporary began to fill with people, YOUTHORACLE took
the stage. Kicking off the acoustic evening presented by Outlaw
label, rapper Youthoracle performed an a capella set, without any of
the accompaniment we can expect to see on his forthcoming EP
'Flashfloods Vol. 2'. What struck me about him was his ability to be
the first on the stage yet captivate an audience in a matter of
seconds. He had good stage presence, and by pacing the stage and
making eye contact with his audience, he seemed relaxed and
comfortable. Despite lack of any accompaniment, the audience were
hooked on his every word, driven by that relentless railway track
rhythm which rappers/slam poets seem to have, just compelling us to
listen to every next word. I was trying to rapidly quote lines whilst
listening but failed miserably, partly because I could not keep up,
but also because he says one insightful comment, and just as you
process it, he hits you with another, and another, and another... and
it's quite inspiring really. His subject matters were largely
political, dealing with education, environmentalism, animal rights,
religion, governments amongst others. I agreed with most of what
Youthoracle was projecting, but aside from my own beliefs, he is
undoubtedly clever with the formation of his words, and has a
passionate and flawless delivery. I was just sad that he only opened
the gig with the one piece, which I was told was a spoken word
mergence of the tracks on his EP. I am certainly looking forward to
hearing more from this talented performer, and just wish I could have
heard more on the night.
Next up was ESTHER VAN LEUVEN, who took to the stage with accompanist Frazer Lowrie. There were a few technical difficulties involving the stage lighting, which seemed to be malfunctioning, changing the mood from ambient acoustic evening into more of a disco... but nonetheless they persevered through the odd flashing lights and did a very professional performance. Opening with a new track called 'Mr Loverman', Frazier Lowrie delicately fingerpicks the guitar, leaving space for the tones of Esther's voice to shine through. Her vocals are soft and well controlled, and her emotion really comes through in lines like “I know I'm a fool, but I'm a fool for you” which may be a little cliché, but are universal in feeling. The repeated vocals “Mr Loverman” in the chorus have a resonance with Shabba Ranks' song of the same title, which I'm not entirely sure were intentional, but made me smile nonetheless.
Another
track in their set that stood out for me was 'I See Right Through
You', mainly due to the darkness this track seems to have. The vocals
from Esther are deep and sultry, which fit lines like “your
silhouette is like a shadow, where I go do you follow” well. In
this song, Frazer Lowrie's fingerpicked guitar really creates an
underlying feeling of angst, which pushes the vocal narratives
forward and gives the track direction and body. Possibly one of my
favourites from this duo.
'How
We Do' is the penultimate track of the set, and possibly the most
popular. I think it's popularity comes from the universality of the
lyrics, and with lines like “when you're feeling lonely, you need a
brother or a homie”, it's not surprising this song is popular. The
chorus of “I'm coming to save you” with it's rising melody feels
hopeful, and Frazer's harmonies are beautiful. The variety of guitar
technique throughout the song has been well thought through, with a
keen attention to structure taking place, which made for a confident
and emotional performance. The final track 'Better That I Let You Go'
has a real Amy Winehouse feel about it, and Esther's vocals are
impressive, as she ventures right to the bottom of her range, and
returns to the higher registers, navigating her vocals well. Overall
their performance was strong, well rehearsed and their chemistry on
stage was undeniable, it was a great set.
Finally
gracing the stage was ROB GREEN, who immediately begins having a
friendly chat with the audience, discussing how it was two years ago
that weekend that his first single 'Cardinal' was released on that
very stage in Nottingham Contemporary. The interactions with the
audience continue as he launches straight into participation, coaxing
the audience to sing along with him in the “ooh yeah oohs” from
his track 'Straight and Narrow'. The lyrics and melodies in the
vocals drive the song forward, showing Rob's enthusiasm and passion
for what he is singing. This passion is also demonstrated in the fact
that when his hand wasn't playing the guitar, he was using the space
to do hand gestures to further reiterate his lyrical points. Rob
isn't shy, building a great rapport with the audience, chatting to us
between the songs, which encourages us to take part. After another
number he launches into a 90's medley, featuring songs by Destiny's
Child, TLC and even The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, which prompted the
whole audience to get involved in singing a long and shouting “brap”
when they recognised a song (by request from Rob!).
After
the party that was the 90's medley, Rob brought it back down a bit,
with 'Join the Party', a song discussing the pressures of fitting in.The song is
contemplative and largely about self assurance, as he sings about
having to “join the party”, but the lyrics are cleverly turned
around later, becoming “the party better join me”.
Cleverly, the change in the lyrical narrative and character also
prompts a musical development, as the song becomes stronger and more
grounded. I think the audience could really relate to it, as it
embodied the ethos of the popular saying “what doesn't kill you
makes you stronger”.
He
followed the track with 'Better Things', singing about when you lose
faith, but get support from the people you care about, with lyrics
like “your insisting is leading to better things”, the audience
remained captivated. It becomes particularly apparent to me in this
song how much Rob enjoys performing, and how much fun he has. He was
even playfully experimenting with his vocal range, going overly low
in the chorus I think mainly for his own entertainment, which made me
smile, and relax into it a bit more. Following this he played his
first single 'Cardinal' to mark the anniversary, which was well
received. But following this, Rob had a surprise up his sleeve...
During 'Bad News', he drags an unsuspecting Nina Smith to join him on
stage, as he claims “it would be wrong to sing it without you”.
As an impromptu performance, it was wonderful to see, because they
just got up there and jammed it out, sharing a vocal mic, and having
fun. It was great to watch, proven by the audiences cheers. The
following track was 'Home Superhero', which Rob dedicated to his
younger brother. Rob stated that the song wasn't written about his
brother in particular, but that it speaks of people who go out of
their way to support you. I think the audience really enjoyed this
slower and quieter track, as you could really see the sensitivity of
Rob's feelings and his emotions during the performance.
This
led on to the final song of the evening, on which Rob proclaimed he
wanted to “end on a high”, and sang 'Good Side'. It was about trying to
remain on someone's good side to diffuse an argument. The song was
delivered excitedly, with the audience demanding an immediate encore,
to which Rob obliged. The encore was another popular medley of one of
his songs from the new album, mixed in with some more nineties hits
and a return of The Fresh Prince, which ended the set on a huge high
as expected, and leaves us all feeling warm and fuzzy inside. What a
fantastic performance with Rob Green right on form, all I can say is
bring on the album!
By Cassia Helme
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