– LEAF TEA SHOP, LIVERPOOL –
As you arrive at the venue for this much anticipated show you can sense, even at the bar that something big is going to happen. There is an aura about Leaf this evening and that is clearly down to the queue building up well before doors.
First to the stage is local musician Jay Lewis (ex La’s). For an opener, the crowd is particularly large and very attentive. From the first note of his bluesy, rock styles he has the room in the palm of his hands. There is very warming applause at such an early stage of the night which is great to witness.
Main support comes in the form of the hotly tipped Lipa graduate Natalie McCool. Recently signed to Grammy winning producer and DJ Steve Levine’s Hubris records there is a lot of expectation tonight and Natalie takes this in her stride. Accompanied by a full band her songs come out a lot stronger than when stripped down acoustically which she is more accustomed to. It came across that she was very humbled to be sharing the stage with our headliner, but by all accounts and after her strong performance tonight, it won’t be long before Natalie is headlining venues of this size on her own. Personal favourite track was America.
The end of the night is beckoning and the room is full to the rafters in high expectation of tonight’s headliner Jesca Hoop. It has been a while since Jesca was last here, and you can feel the excitement in the room with new record in tow. No introduction is needed and as she walks onto the stage quietly and polite the room exudes delight and rapturous applause and cheers are directed to her. With a small band in tow Jesca takes complete control of the room, where in between tracks she tells tales of her Mormon childhood and close friendship with her brother. The ability to build up each song comes with incredible simplicity. The hour long set feels like 10 minutes and is as if she has never been away. Best song tonight is the namesake of the new record ‘The house that jack built’.
