13 August 2008 (gig)
18 August 2008
The Roundhouse is dressed differently tonight. Instead of crowds of people huddled intimately together trying desperately to see the stage, there are little tables with candles flickering upon them, and people are actually dressed up. It has a lounge feel to it and there is even table service. Lush red velour curtains surround the standing area, trying its best to hide its vast size. A strange sight for a venue which can usually fit 3000 people plus, but nevertheless it has changed the mood for tonight’s proceedings.
As Nina Nastasia coyly enters the stage the crowd are silent and wait for her to begin. Guitar in hand and a small table beside her she looks very alone up there. She strums on her acoustic guitar and gets things started. Her voice is soothing and heavenly and when you concentrate and actually listen to what she is singing, she has a lot to say.
“This would go out to my brother if I had one.”
Her attitude is matter of fact and has a certain husky element to her voice. When she suddenly goes from soft, light vocals to powerful strong ones, you can see just how talented she is and the resemblance to Ani di Franco and Alanis Morissette are startling.
Throughout her set the audience are transfixed and utterly silent when she is performing. Her witty banter and storytelling, keeps the audience interested and amused. As she is American, droney vocals are usually annoying, but for this type of delicate, folk-like music it works remarkably well.
“I have to apologise to anyone who went to the Union Chapel show. Sorry. Virgin Airways lost my guitar and then I couldn’t tune it properly.”
Her laid-back and genuine nature is a massive hit with the crowd as she wants to be on a level with them. Then she does something extraordinary. She explains that she has just written a song but can’t remember all the lyrics yet so she needs someone from the audience to hold them up for her.
“I wrote down a bunch of lyrics. I don’t know if I’ll remember them. I’ll give ten pounds for someone to hold up the lyrics.”
This is a rare sight at a gig, sharing a fresh new song with an audience is a risky decision, but her overwhelming confidence and likeability means she can pull a stunt like this off.
Her songs are emotionally charged and personal, like the intense ‘Regrets’ and ‘Brad haunts a Party’ but , after an hour of listening to her songs, you can’t help but notice that each sings sounds very much the same as the one before and after it. They feel like they roll into one and after a while you drift off and don’t notice that another song has started.
Maybe the venue is just too big, or maybe she needs a band on stage to make it more obvious when a new song has started, in any case, the audience lose their focus after a while and it seems Nastasia does as she swigs whisky from her glass. It’s a shame as she can definitely sing but if her crowd are bored from the same, repetitive strumming motion, then perhaps it’s time to jazz it up. Perhaps.
