As Nottingham Contemporary began to fill with people, YOUTHORACLE took the stage. Kicking off the acoustic evening presented by Outlaw label, rapper Youthoracle performed an a capella set, without any of the accompaniment we can expect to see on his forthcoming EP ‘Flashfloods Vol. 2’. What struck me about him was his ability to be the first on the stage yet captivate an audience in a matter of seconds. He had good stage presence, and by pacing the stage and making eye contact with his audience, he seemed relaxed and comfortable. Despite lack of any accompaniment, the audience were hooked on his every word, driven by that relentless railway track rhythm which rappers/slam poets seem to have, just compelling us to listen to every next word. I was trying to rapidly quote lines whilst listening but failed miserably, partly because I could not keep up, but also because he says one insightful comment, and just as you process it, he hits you with another, and another, and another… and it’s quite inspiring really. His subject matters were largely political, dealing with education, environmentalism, animal rights, religion, governments amongst others. I agreed with most of what Youthoracle was projecting, but aside from my own beliefs, he is undoubtedly clever with the formation of his words, and has a passionate and flawless delivery. I was just sad that he only opened the gig with the one piece, which I was told was a spoken word mergence of the tracks on his EP. I am certainly looking forward to hearing more from this talented performer, and just wish I could have heard more on the night.
Next up was ESTHER VAN LEUVEN, who took to the stage with accompanist Frazer Lowrie. There were a few technical difficulties involving the stage lighting, which seemed to be malfunctioning, changing the mood from ambient acoustic evening into more of a disco… but nonetheless they persevered through the odd flashing lights and did a very professional performance. Opening with a new track called ‘Mr Loverman’, Frazier Lowrie delicately fingerpicks the guitar, leaving space for the tones of Esther’s voice to shine through. Her vocals are soft and well controlled, and her emotion really comes through in lines like “I know I’m a fool, but I’m a fool for you” which may be a little cliché, but are universal in feeling. The repeated vocals “Mr Loverman” in the chorus have a resonance with Shabba Ranks’ song of the same title, which I’m not entirely sure were intentional, but made me giggle nonetheless.
Another track in their set that stood out for me was ‘I See Right Through You’, mainly due to the darkness this track seems to have. The vocals from Esther are deep and sultry, which fit lines like “your silhouette is like a shadow, where I go do you follow” well. In this song, Frazer Lowrie’s fingerpicked guitar really creates an underlying feeling of angst, which pushes the vocal narratives forward and gives the track direction and body. Possibly one of my favourites from this duo.
‘How We Do’ is the penultimate track of the set, and possibly the most popular. I think it’s popularity comes from the universality of the lyrics, and with lines like “when you’re feeling lonely, you need a brother or a homie”, it’s not surprising this song is popular. The chorus of “I’m coming to save you” with it’s rising melody feels hopeful, and Frazer’s harmonies are beautiful. The variety of guitar technique throughout the song has been well thought through, with a keen attention to structure taking place, which made for a confident and emotional performance. The final track ‘Better That I Let You Go’ has a real Amy Winehouse feel about it, and Esther’s vocals are impressive, as she ventures right to the bottom of her range, and returns to the higher registers, navigating her vocals well. Overall their performance was strong, well rehearsed and their chemistry on stage was undeniable, it was a great set.
Finally gracing the stage was ROB GREEN, who immediately begins having a friendly chat with the audience, discussing how it was two years ago that weekend that his first single ‘Cardinal’ was released on that very stage in Nottingham Contemporary. The interactions with the audience continue as he launches straight into participation, coaxing the audience to sing along with him in the “ooh yeah oohs” from his track ‘Straight and Narrow’. The lyrics and melodies in the vocals drive the song forward, showing Rob’s enthusiasm and passion for what he is singing. This passion is also demonstrated in the fact that when his hand wasn’t playing the guitar, he was using the space to do hand gestures to further reiterate his lyrical points. Rob isn’t shy, building a great rapport with the audience, chatting to us between the songs, which encourages us to take part. After another number he launches into a 90’s medley, featuring songs by Destiny’s Child, TLC and even The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, which prompted the whole audience to get involved in singing a long and shouting “brap” when they recognised a song (by request from Rob!).
After the party that was the 90’s medley, Rob brought it back down a bit, with a song discussing the pressures of fitting in.The song is contemplative and largely about self assurance, as he sings about having to “join the party”, but the lyrics are cleverly turned around later in the song, becoming “the party better join me”. The change in the lyrical narrative and character also prompts a musical development, as the song becomes stronger and more grounded. I think the audience could really relate to it, as it embodied the ethos of the popular saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.
He followed the track with ‘Better Things’, singing about when you lose faith, but get support from the people you care about, with lyrics like “your insisting is leading to better things”, the audience remained captivated. It becomes particularly apparent to me in this song how much Rob enjoys performing, and how much fun he has. He was even playfully experimenting with his vocal range, going overly low in the chorus I think mainly for his own entertainment, which made me smile, and relax into it a bit more. Following this he played his first single ‘Cardinal’ to mark the anniversary, which was well received. But after, Rob had some tricks up his sleeve… During ‘Bad News’, he dragged an unsuspecting Nina Smith to join him on stage, as he claimed “it would be wrong to sing it without you”. As an impromptu performance, it was wonderful to see, because they just got up there and jammed it out, sharing a vocal mic, and having fun. It was great to watch, proven by the audiences cheers. The following track was ‘Home Superhero’, which Rob dedicated to his younger brother. Rob stated that the song wasn’t written about his brother in particular, but that it speaks of people who go out of their way to support you. I think the audience really enjoyed this slower and quieter track, as you could really see the sensitivity of Rob’s feelings and his emotions during the performance.
This led on to the final song of the evening, on which Rob proclaimed he wanted to “end on a high”, and sang a track about trying to remain on someone’s good side to diffuse an argument. The song was delivered excitedly, with the audience demanding an immediate encore, to which Rob obliged. The encore was another popular medley of one of his songs from the new album, mixed in with some more nineties hits and a return of The Fresh Prince, which ended the set on a huge high as expected, and leaves us all feeling warm and fuzzy inside. What a fantastic performance with Rob green right on form, all I can say is bring on the album!
Cassia Helme
