Kate Nash
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER –
To say I am excited for tonight is an understatement – I am thrilled to be going to watch Kate Nash at Gorilla in Manchester. Having not released any new material for some time, or an album in an even longer time, to see Kate Nash shimmy on stage in full length pink sequins with complete female backing band, while embracing us like she’s never really been gone, is kinda special. Don’t mock – it was Awesome with a capital A, even to the point that she crowdsurfed herself and fans, to our complete and utter shocking delight.
With baited breath, Nash begins the night going straight in with the high impact ‘Sister’, one of my favourite songs from her last album, Girl Talk. Hitting us with so much energy and passion, it feels much fresher than the 2013 album release implies. Her ability to sing and converse her lyrics intricately into stories never ceases to amaze. Though seemingly the aim of most lyrical artists, I always feel Nash pours real feelings behind every word, so that they ooze and drip with sincerity. So much so, that if any other artist were to cover her music, I’d feel it would be artificial. There’s anger, there’s pain, there’s humiliation; it’s like teenage angst for the eighties generation. Every song is intense.
After the thrashing start of ‘Sister’, ‘Do-Wah-Doo’ and ‘OHMYGOD!’, things calm down with ‘Birds’ and ‘We Get On’, the latter of which sees such an anthemic singalong throughout the room (much like knowing every word to the Fresh Prince Of Bel Air theme tune) that it’s impossible not to feel supremely happy that every word is remembered. This leads through to ‘Musical Theatre’, a new song focusing on mental health, something close to Nash that she states we need to talk about more openly. Her genuineness and urge for goodwill is evident in the openness with which she talks about her own personal experiences – she emphasises that mental health is not a lonely thing, we all deal with it. It’s touching really. From that to the state of the world, Trump, Brexit, yadda yadda yadda, it’s all encompassing – if we had all the time in the world it feels we could set it to rights at this rate. Power to the people! Or as Kate Nash puts it “we need good people to beat these mother fuckers – we are gonna win!” Or again just power to the people. With an encore of ‘Mariella’, the night ends too soon in my opinion. Everything seems so much rosier, and I’d like to remain in my rose-tinted world a little bit longer, please.
For the many years away, it really doesn’t show. Kate Nash is back. Her relevancy is still undeniable, from mental health to political power to girl power; if ever there was a champion of all things positive, Kate Nash would be it. She’s fearless and indomitable, all whilst showing she’s still vulnerable, as we all are, but never giving up on something she believes in. In this day and age of ever-changing needs and desires, where everything is fleeting, it’s comforting to know that there are still champions in the public eye. All this, and the fact that she’s a fireball of energy with amazing songs to match, is what makes Kate Nash unmissable. Not that you could ever miss those sparkly pink sequins.
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