From the moment Hannah Reid opened her mouth a blanket of amazement immersed the crowd, a wave of silent awe passing from person to person. I’d been invited to eat yams with my American friends for Thanksgiving; safe to say the band satisfied any cravings I had.
Opening with ‘Hey Now’ the first track from their album If You Wait, they extended the introduction to showcase what they’re all about; beautiful vocals over a cosy bass and keyboard. Goosebumps went flying. For the next few tracks they went straight into each song making you begin to think it was going to be a sing and run. However, after 3 songs she addressed the audience and was even funny! She’s a catch and the man in the audience who took his top off and proposed to her obviously thought so too (she politely declined).
During ‘Shyer’ she asks “you to give it up.” It doesn’t matter what ‘it’ is, the audience would’ve given up anything she asked for there and then. They are so mesmerising there was barely a smartphone held up in the crowd, which speaks volumes.
‘Wasting My Young Years’ is the song that launched their career but there are so many other highlights. After stating they were adamant they wouldn’t do a cover, they did. And it’s their next release called ‘Nightcall.’ The song originally appeared on the soundtrack to the Gosling film Drive and they’ve completely made their own; it’s sublime. They’ve breathed life into a mechanical track.
The stage background was a city skyline with skyscrapers changing their lighting depending on the song. To be honest they could’ve had One Direction stood behind them and nobody would’ve noticed; this gig was solely about a great band’s performance.
So last Thursday I gave thanks for Hannah Reid’s voice. The next day was indeed Black Friday for me when I saw that their next dates in London are already sold out.
10/10 for a transfixing evening.
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