photos by Daniel Whiston Photography
I was expecting to see the
full gamut of movers and shakers from Nottingham’s music scene out in force
tonight for what might just qualify as the gig of the year. Nina Smith took a
huge risk by taking a year away from the limelight to reinvent herself and
emerged last night with a new sound and a new band. A year is a long time when
you’re one of the leading lights of a city’s musical heritage, a lot of new
bands can form and others can fall by the wayside in that time. Hard work and
prolific gigging are surely the order of the day when you’re at the top of your
game. Once tipped to be Nottingham’s next breakout artist, Nina Smith has
turned her back on her acoustic set up in favour of a full band and fuller,
more soulful sound.
The meticulously planned out
running order was there for all to see, two support acts would be followed by
an introductory video, a short set, and even the encore was part of the plan. Unfortunately,
I had to record my American radio show straight afterwards so was unable to go
to take advantage of my invitation to the after party, so I missed out on my
chance to stand nervously in the corner too scared to approach Nina for fear of
getting tongue-tied and making myself look stupid. Maybe that would have been a
far more entertaining blog.
Leaving the house at the right
time is something I can never do, having my dinner and walking the dog before
having a shower and figuring out what to wear all made the minutes stack against
me. The Facebook event page advised an early arrival, and as it was a free
entry event I was worried about not getting in. The first support act were just
finishing when I got there, so I missed Sabar Soundsystem, and was having a
conversation in the smoking area when GOA (Gang Of Angels) Choir were in full
swing, although I did catch most of their set.
A subject that frequently
returns during discussions on NottinghamLIVE
is the audience at local music events. The majority of the crowd tends to be
the same people everywhere you go; other musicians, promoters and broadcasters
(although a lot of broadcasters don’t tend to attend many gigs). Members of the
public are few and far between, which is a shame as you could go into somewhere
like Primark and name a few bands and nobody will know what you’re talking
about. This takes me back to the first lines of this blog; I expected the
Rescue Rooms to be packed to the rafters with all of the faces, I even expected
the ‘goal-hangers’ like good old Action Jackson to leave the house for this
one. Mike Atkinson was reviewing for The Nottingham Evening Post
(as I still call it), Cassia was reviewing for NottinghamLIVE,
and I was there as a pedestrian, the three of us representing the scene and
nobody else. Nobody that I noticed that is, maybe all the others were standing
at the back. The fact that the bulk of the audience was ‘normal’ people was
brilliant of course, as it meant that a Nottingham musician was attracting
attention from the outside world.
Nina kept a low profile in the
build up to her set, and anticipation built due to a short video presentation
starring the lady of the hour herself. In the video she described her new
direction while appearing to be getting ready for the show, it would have been
brilliant if that was live and nobody realised. Arriving on stage to a deserved rapturous applause, she hasn’t lost her stage presence; fragile but commanding
at the same time, not to mention drop dead beautiful. The new sound fitted her like a glove, my only quibble being
that the set was over before it had begun. A handful of new songs, an encore,
and then it was all over. Maybe that ‘next breakout artist’ tip will come to
fruition this time around? It certainly should!
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