Nadine Shah
It says something about the anticipation for a gig when half an hour before the doors open there’s a queue snaking out of the gates to the Speigeltent, in the rain. The new single has a wider scope and rockier vibe, but it was the richly gothic atmosphere of her breakthrough second album that had brought the crowds to Chapelfield tonight. I had heard lots about Nadine Shah in advance - she likes a drink and a fag, her down to earth nature, left-wing political activism and her championing of mental health issues, all of these were to be brought into the show in one way or another. She’d also been down the Birdcage and munched her way through fish and chips from the award winning Grovesnor with a couple of boozy pre-gig drinks to get into fighting shape.
It definitely felt like a hot ticket event when we walked into the Art Nouveau inspired centrepiece of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival's annual cultural offer, and what I like a lot about the events that go on there is that they start almost as soon as you are in the door. Nadine emerged minutes after we did and her band kicked into a set front loaded with tracks from the new album marking a broadening of the pallet with the addition of sax on most tunes. Her voice is a thing of magical beauty, and even the natural anxiety which comes with her first gig for quite some time couldn’t diminish those dulcet tones. As she felt her way into the gig her engagement and enjoyment grew, clearly digging the music herself and grooving on the spot due to the tiny size of the stage. In between songs she passionately spoke about Brexit, not the economic union we are leaving, but the nasty side of what has been uncovered in our communities with the xenophobia and division that is worsening.
Introducing crowd favourite Stealing Cars with "here’s the big hit", I could almost feel like I was falling in love with her, so vulnerable yet lush, deep and powerful is that beautiful voice, and such a wonderfully mature slice of humanity contained with its words. New single Out The Way rocks way harder, like a heavyweight PJ Harvey tune sung by a velvet Siouxsie Sioux from Tyneside and her sax player got a chance to let loose again. My personal favourite was The Fool which owns the space it fills with assurance and power, a natural highlight with its hooks and vigour.
The night was over in a flash, and we all could have gone on for hours, but apparently the tent is limited in how late and loud its musical events can be, Nadine pausing for a brief tab break before the closing numbers. After the final song I managed to inveigle myself backstage and in the ensuing melee lost my meticulous notes, so apologies for the lack of song titles on show, but believe me, the whole show was overflowing with emotionally resonant gorgeousness, and last album Fast Food would be an excellent place to start. There was genuine adoration for this singer in the room, her heart is huge, her talent huger still and at the risk of going on about it, what comes out of those pipes is transformative. Everyone needs a glorious, lustrous, dangerously gothic hug of a voice in their lives, and if you didn’t know where to find it before, you do now. A fantastic evening of enrapturing sounds and deliciously decadent surroundings. I loved it.
