Over the last twelve months, we've seen the evolution of
Kate Nash. One might say that you could notice early signs of this change on her second album,
My Best Friend Is You. She drifted from the piano and grabbed the guitar. Could you imagine how difficult it would be to shake the "
'Foundations' singer-songwriter, Kate Nash..." introduction that kicked off every article? In retrospect, the punk rock riot grrrl has always been there and it's simply more prominent on her new album. Just look at older tracks like "
Model Behaviour" and "
I Just Love You More". I had the opportunity to see
Kate Nash at the
Black Cat in Washington DC last Saturday and it will be remembered as one unbelievably incredible show.
The sold out venue opened a little before the listed door time of nine, which seemed to excite the mass of people forming a twisted line around the bar. A large portion of the crowd consisted of a younger generation, proven by the X's across their hands. I made my way to the front of the stage and claimed a spot at the center of the second row. Due to the lack of barrier between performer and audience, I stood about an arm's length away from the microphone.
After what seemed like an unusually long wait, which may have been an illusion due to anticipation, the opening band took the stage. I will admit that with a name like
Supercute!, I wasn't sure what to expect from them. The band is made up of four girls: guitarist
Julia Cumming, bassist
LuLu Laurette Prat, drummer
Ruby Tanja, and ukulele wielding singer
Rachel Trachtenburg. After the show, I was asked what kind of music they play and I had the most difficult time answering the question. They're pop-like, but not in the "dance pop" kind of way. It's more of a retro girl-group type vibe. They played a set of original songs and threw in a spectacular cover of "
Paint It Black". The general consensus from the venue was overly enthusiastic and they fit right in with
Kate Nash. Their set was quite an impressive way to start the night.
After
Supercute! and a set change, which was filled with sing-alongs to music ranging from
Nirvana to
Destiny's Child,
Kate Nash appeared. That's when a large part of the crowd had a meltdown. She started the show with "
Sister", one of my personal favorites from her latest record,
Girl Talk. Wearing a sparkling gold dress over black leggings and red plaid shorts, she rotated between a decorated white bass, a simpler red guitar, and just a microphone, allowing her to dance spastically across the dimly lit stage. She was accompanied by her all-female band, creating a
Runaways-esque image.
The setlist consisted of songs from all three of her albums, along with multiple B-sides and non-album tracks. She even threw in a
FIDLAR cover and explained how some misheard lyrics transformed their song "
Cocaine" into "
Grrrl Gang". Most of the major singles such as "
Foundations", "
Do-Wah-Doo", and "
Kiss That Grrrl" were heard. I'll admit that I completely flipped out when she played "
Mariella" after leaving it untouched for years.
In between songs,
Kate would tell humorous anecdotes about the music and her songwriting process. Dialogue with the audience was on the heavy side thanks to many screams of "
Will you marry me!" and witty responses to her banter. During one portion of the concert, she showcased the
Because I Am A Girl campaign. She partnered with the charity during this tour and even offered autographed merch in exchange for a donation. This activism went hand in hand with "
Free My Pussy", a song inspired by the controversial arrest of Russian punk group
Pussy Riot after their 2012 performance.
The main set ended with a solo performance of "
Lullaby For An Insomniac".
Kate's somewhat hoarse vocals left the entire room in silence after a long and powerful set. She left the stage for moment and later returned with the band for an encore of "
We Get On". Everyone sang along as well as they could manage, knowing it would be the final song.
Instead of simply saying goodnight and making an exit after the encore,
Kate had the venue play one final song over the sound system. "
(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" from
Dirty Dancing was the closing track. Yes, everyone danced and sang along to classic 80's music. And yes,
Kate Nash and her guitarist
Linda Buratto crowd surfed before the band took one final bow and made their exit. It was the perfect ending to the perfect night.
Kate Nash: Live At The Black Cat - 23/03/2013
SETLIST:
Sister
Death Proof
All Talk
Conventional Girl
Kiss That Grrrl
OMYGOD!
Do-Wah-Doo
I Just Love You More
Foundations
Free My Pussy
Model Behaviour
Grrrl Gang (FIDLAR Cover)
3AM
Mariella
Under-Estimate The Girl
Lullaby For An Insomniac
ENCORE:
We Get On
Kate Nash's new album,
Girl Talk, is out now and you can grab a copy
here. If you still need to pick up her previous releases, go
this way.
Supercute! will release their
Kate Nash produced debut album,
DON'T PoP MY BUBBLE, on June 11 and they currently have a spectrum of songs available for download on
their bandcamp page. You can check out
Kate's website for info on upcoming tour dates.
