Mbongwana Star / Estère - Live at Hall 2, The Sage, Newcastle

Quickly appearing behind her dashboard of electronics, Estère confidently took the early birds in Hall 2 straight to the heart of her funk; a jam built with bold, brassy and frivolous sounds from her MPC. Splashed in colourful lights, her unabashed and expressive dance moves whipped her pop around the room, flipping speculators over into new-found appreciators. 

From hearing some of their From Kinshasa album prior to this performance, you would be forgiven for not expecting such a rock spirit to Mbongwana Star’s show, but constantly sourcing attention amongst the complex polyrhythms was Liam Farrell’s (Doctor L) guitar: possibly the warmest distortion tones I have heard emerge from an SG.

Dressed in varieties of black clothing, sporting leathers (and in one case, a cheeky green wig) the quintet occupied a certain appreciation for ‘rock-band’ sensibilities, but paralleled that inspiration with songs made fluid through Afro-folk harmonies and rhythms. Dance was the only disposition possible by the third song in, streaming from the five distinct personalities on the stage, out to the venue floor where a wave of happy, smiling movers and shakers could not be broken from the spell. C’est bon? Theo Nzonza checked between songs. C’est tres bien! said the brow-sweat and sore soles at the close.

[2016.06.11] for NARC Magazine.

Tom McRae - Live at The Sage, Gateshead

As the final red sunset of the Bank Holiday weekend burns through The Sage's glass exterior, smartly-dressed families and couples peruse the merchandise stand. With options such as Tea-Towels with lyrics on, and Baby T-shirts, there seems to be a harmony between the artist and audience as to what point in life they have reached together. 

Numbers are considerably reduced in Hall 2 as SWANN (a trio realising singer-songerwriter Chloe Swann) open proceedings. She performs haunted by the spirit of Nico and with her last note applause registers far beyond politeness. 

The room fills up, and McRae walks on to hearty applause. The tone is set with Lately's All I Know, balancing well-written songwriting with performance tricks from a seasoned sleeve. Along with the dry-wit of his miserablist introspection, he bonds 99% of the audience. Sadly one attendee may have enjoyed too much sun over the weekend and chose to bellow along with every word; the excellent acoustics of the room meaning often they were as loud as McRae. He was humble in trying to diffuse the sabotage, but sadly the etiquette took a duration for them to learn, in spite of the crowd and himself opposing it more and more pointedly. In closing, McRae acknowledged such challenges as part of a live experience, and the audience were admiring of the bravery he showed throughout the show.

[2013.05.06] for NARC Magazine.