Jake Bugg
The LCR was now pretty much full to capacity and there was a real sense of excitement and anticipation in the crowd for the accomplished singer and song writer.
It was a cold, dark night this past Tuesday here in Norwich & as someone who really doesn’t enjoy winter I needed an escape. This gratefully came in the form of making my way to the LCR where I enjoyed a fantastic performance from Nottingham’s favourite troubadour, Jake Bugg. He’s currently on tour with his latest album ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’ and along for the ride with him were a trio called Girl Band, who also hail from the land of Robin Hood.
Girl Band
They only formed in early 2022 but have already been causing quite a buzz on the local midland music scene. So I was really looking forward to seeing what they bring to the good folks of Nozza and they didn’t let us down. The threesome consisting of Georgie on vocals & guitar, Kay on Bass, and Jada on drums, were warmly welcomed by the large crowd already gathered inside the venue.
From the get go I was enjoying their heavier almost grunge like sound which was nicely complimented with an 80’s polished rock n roll vibe. Looking around it was easy to notice that it wasn’t just my attention they had grabbed but everyone else’s as they made their way through their seven song set. The synergy between the three was also a real pleasure to see with each one taking in the spotlight. Georgie’s powerful and commanding vocals, Kay’s belting bass lines, and Jada’s monster energy behind the drum kit.
Girl Band
There is clearly a real friendship and togetherness between them which makes their performance even more enjoyable. Georgie tells the audience “We would like to come back here” and this gets a nice cheer from the crowd. I hope they do because with standout tracks like ‘Talk Me Down’ and ‘Not Like The Rest’ I’m excited to see them play again. Having done an excellent job warming us up not just from the awful weather outside but for tonight’s headliner, I really believe that the strong bond between them along with their excellent musicianship all points towards a shining bright future ahead for Girl Band.
There was a 30 minute stage turn around and a little look back at the images I had just taken before making my way back into the pit to get ready for Jake Bugg. The LCR was now pretty much full to capacity and there was a real sense of excitement and anticipation in the crowd for the accomplished singer and song writer. It’s hard to believe that he’s still only 29 years old, the indie working class kid has now become a man and this was demonstrated perfectly in the assured, masterclass of a performance that he delivered.
Kicking off his set with ‘Me and You’ a track that features on his 2013 second studio album ‘Shangri La’, you could say that this was an understated way to start. However that is one of the reasons why I think Jake Bugg has endeared himself into the hearts of his fans. You don’t see him wanting attention in the media, he’s not driving fancy cars or has huge grand productions when he performs, because quite simply he doesn’t need to. This is because he knows exactly where he came from, who he is, and armed with just his guitar is the reason why we’re all here anyway.
It was shortly after my 3 songs in the pit were up that the set really started to shift a gear. Jake, with an effortlessly cool aura, stormed us through a catalogue of his indie classics. There are big sing alongs and lots of dancing to fan favourites such as ‘Lightning Bolt’ & ‘Two Fingers’. Norwich were really enjoying themselves and so was I, especially being in the crowd for my personal favourite ‘Seen It All’. However it wasn’t just the more well known songs that maintained the energy and excitement. Around half way through we were treated to two new tracks that went down extremely well, one of them being “All Kinds of People’ which I can easily see being a big hit on the festival circuit.
Jake Bugg
The fun times were briefly put on hold for a hauntingly beautiful rendition of ‘Broken’. The heartstrings being really pulled on this one with Jake confessing beforehand that “It’s becoming harder and harder to sing this song”. We certainly didn’t leave him hanging and together created a beautiful moment of connection between an artist and his fans. The night came to a close with “All I need” finishing off the set, sending us all home with smiles on our faces. It was such an accomplished performance from a man with his guitar, so comfortable in his own skin, that served as a lovely reminder of just how special a star Jake Bugg really is.
FULL GALLERY HERE
