- Katy B – Live Review - 2 April, 2014
- Anticipating – Billy Lockett - 24 March, 2014
- Introducing – Salt Ashes - 14 March, 2014
Rising solo star Nick Mulvey began his first headlining tour in the UK this week after a string of dates around Europe; his first stop was the Glee Club in Birmingham. It is an established venue perfect for up and coming artists to showcase their raw talent in an intimate environment. The room was seated with all chairs pointed towards the small stage; Mulvey himself likened the layout to that of an assembly.
The support act was another up and coming artist Eaves, who did everything that a support act should do. He wetted the crowd’s appetite for the main act but also managed, particularly with myself, to make an impression, enough for me to check out his Soundcloud afterwards. Walking up to the stage with just a guitar, he played a handful of beautiful, haunting original folk songs. Looking like he was fresh out the Greenwich Folk scene of the mid 60s, with this long hair and baggy flannel shirt, his guitar playing and stunning voice was fantastic to listen to. I look forward to seeing what this musician can achieve in the future as I believe he is a great talent and there is certainly a demand for his style of music.
After a short interval between the sets, the main act Mulvey, as with Eaves, came up onto the stage with just a guitar, dressed casually with a warm receptive grin and began playing his guitar. Already a fan of his voice and his music, I never acknowledged what a fantastic effortless guitar player he actually is. He created a massive wall of sound just with a guitar whilst his set list was built up mostly around his EPs ‘The Trellis’ and ‘Fever to the Form.’
The live favourite ‘Nitrous’ was played early on in the set, with a crowd full of smiles as he began singing segments of Olive’s ‘You’re Not Alone,’ in the middle section of the song. Between songs he engaged with the audience mentioning his love for Birmingham and how he toured last year with Milly Mason and Laura Marling as a support act in the city, before continuing with other brilliant original tracks such as ‘Juramidam’ as well as his cover of Gillian Welch’s ‘Look at Miss Ohio,’ a particular favourite of mine. As his set was coming to an end he played his new single, released that very day, the brilliant ‘Cucurucu’ before thanking the audience for listening.
As a whole I was very impressed with the show, it has made me anticipate the release of his debut full length album ‘First Mind’ in May and I would gladly go to see him live again, particularly to see what he can achieve with a full band and in a larger venue, but for now I am happy to have saw this budding artist in such a intimate environment.
