Princess Slayer / Nina Schofield / Ross Leppard / Jonas and Jane [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 12/5/14]
I need to work on my time management. Arriving all too tardy for this show, I missed most of Jonas & Jane’s set. However, I did catch their encore, a pretty and well-performed country-tinged tune. Check out their Soundcloud page for some very sweet tracks that I regret missing out on.
Ross Leppard
Ross Leppard’s set was impressive. This guy combines John Mayer-esque vocals with awesomely intricate acoustic guitar and a solid sense of rhythm that allows the music to groove when it needs to, and won me over pretty much instantly.
Ross’s audience really responded to his grooves; there was a lot of subtle swaying and body movement going on, and it was obvious everyone had a great time for the duration, even though it was expressed in a somewhat understated way. Overall, this was a hypnotic and mesmerising set driven entirely by the music and musicianship – a really fantastic achievement and experience.
As far as constructive criticism goes, I can’t think of anything to improve Leppard’s live set; but with such great guitar technique, he should definitely have a stronger YouTube presence. More live sessions with shots that include the guitar could attract serious viewing figures.
Nina Schofield
I tend to have an eye for unusual details, so it’s fairly normal (for me) to have noticed, before anything else at this point, that Nina Schofield’s drummer was sightreading. And fair play to the guy; he’s super-tight even when scanning charts, and that’s a serious skill.
I’ve one bit of constructive criticism, and then I’ll move on to the positive points. Despite the observations listed in a couple of paragraphs’ time, this set was marred by something that (hopefully) nobody else noticed. When it comes to solo artists performing with a hired backing band (which I’m assuming Nina Schofield was here), it’s common to see the sessioneers look out at an underwhelming turnout and then allow the situation to affect their performance. During the set that follows, it’s looks like the players are going through the motions, acting as if they’re doing A Job, rather than the job of their dreams. It is an understandable reaction (especially given the current buzz surrounding Nina Schofield), but the fact is that when you’re onstage, you’re always performing; and this applies whether you’re playing notes or not.
A particular point that needs to be addressed: During the songs for which they weren’t required to play, the instrumentalists looked bored. Again, this is understandable – but it’s not necessary to show it. If backing musicians just close their eyes and nod to the music when they’re not required to play, they look like they’re feeling the music; if they don’t (and, to be fair, it happens a lot in these situations) then it really drains the energy out of the set. From the point of view of an audience member, if even one performer onstage looks bored then it’s going to bring you down, no matter what the others are doing.
Fortunately, Nina Schofield’s great strength is bringing her own energy level up and maintaining it for the duration of a set packed with awesome songs. And her backing band did provide some extra energy through their playing – it was tight, professionally nuanced, and delivered with great tones. Without the above problems the overall effect would have been incredible. I’ve no doubt that if they were playing to a bigger crowd Nina Schofield and her band would have blown all onlookers away; but they should nonetheless be prepared to do the same on an off-night.
As for Schofield herself, she is absolutely a star in the making. With epic songs, an immense and pitch-perfect vocal, and the support of a team of well-drilled session players who only need minor tweaking to become serious contenders themselves, Schofield is not only a consummate professional willing to work herself extra hard even when faced with a disappointing turnout, but also an artist with a hell of a lot of passion and pure soul. However, if Schofield could be freed from the need to play keys via the addition of an extra hired gun she would really be free to express herself physically – something that she clearly wanted to do, but struggled with due to being stuck behind a keyboard with her hands occupied during several songs. Although a keys player is an extra head to pay, I could definitely see this set performed by high-energy instrumentalists really rocking out, with Schofield free of restrictions and standing centre-stage as the calm eye of the storm.
That kind of set, performed consistently at every show, would catapult Nina Schofield and her band to the next level and beyond – which, frankly, is where they belong.
Princess Slayer
The last time I saw these guys live was last Thursday – and in my review of that night I commented on how much they’ve improved over the last six months. This time around, I have to say that now, in just four days, they’ve hit a whole new level. Perhaps it was ERIKA’s influence – a stadium-quality pop-rock show in a 250-capacity venue is enough to inspire anyone to push themselves, no matter what they do – or perhaps it’s just time, but either way Princess Slayer are one of the best live acts on the scene right now.
“Adrenaline-soaked” doesn’t even begin to come close; with Vince Welch pounding the skins as if they insulted his mother, Casey Lim showcasing an impressively consistent and uniquely detailed vocal, and their own hired guns getting deep into PS’s hyper-syncopated EDM tunes while staying focussed and having fun, this whole show blew me away. Add three brand new songs into the mix, and you have an absolute winner.
I felt, for the duration, as if the Boileroom had melted away and been replaced by a festival tent. This was completely awesome – until the final notes faded away and I had to make my way home through a dull and murky Guildford night. Fortunately, there’ll be a next time.
Big love to the Boileroom team & Festibelly for picking worthy acts, providing a top-notch sound, and generally being incredible.
Links
Princess Slayer official website.
Nina Schofield official website.
The Boileroom official website.
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