Kate Nash // The Waterfront - 10.10.13
It was the year anniversary of her single 'Free my Pussy', which created quite the contrast to her older, jumper-wearing tea-drinking self.
On arrival, The Waterfront was filling up with, of course, teenage girls. What was surprising was that the average age of them was about fourteen or fifteen, which was unexpected for an artist whose most famous album came out six years ago. The supports, The Tuts and Volkano were perfectly chosen. The Tuts were very angsty-teen-girl-band, but just about pulled it off, and Volkano with their wolf howling and novelty hat merchandise got everyone dancing in preparation for Kate.
Having had three main albums now, no one was quite sure what the set list would be like, especially as she visited Norwich in April this year, and hasn’t released anything since then. However I’d say it was a satisfying mix of 'Made of Bricks' classics, the odd track from 'My Best Friend is You', and a fair bit of her new album; 'Girl Talk'.
'Mouthwash' and 'Take Me to A Higher Plane' were both still as good as when their respective albums were first released, and, as is common with singers like Kate who have a close group of followers, everyone - of course - knew all the words. It was also the year anniversary of her single 'Free my Pussy', which created quite the contrast to her older, jumper-wearing tea-drinking self. Her new album had a lot more of a message, mainly a feminist one, but also other advice which seemed to be aimed at teenage girls, for example; “If you’ve got shit friends, dump your friends”.
She finished up with 'Merry Happy', which was a fantastic end song. After having her keyboard brought out to her, it was a bit quieter than the rest of the show, and it felt similar to what it would’ve been like to see her six years ago. Overall, she gave a fantastic performance, involving the whole crowd, and seeming genuinely affectionate towards them. What was strange though was that it wasn’t just seeing Kate Nash a few years late, she has fully taken on this new stronger image, and it’s different - very different, but I personally, think I like it.
