Kate Nash, The Boileroom, Guildford
KATE NASH rocked into town to give fans a glimpse of her new punk rock look and sound.
She seems to have divided opinion straight down the middle after recently releasing her brand-new Underestimate The Girl track on the internet.
The shouty Poly Styrene-meets-Courtney Love vocals were too much for some but, as Kate says: “I’ve been hurt and I’m angry and playing bass and shouting about it makes me feel better. That’s all it is. And if that freaks people out then good.”
The Foundations And Mouthwash star might lose a few fans with her new riot grrrl image – but she’ll gain a whole load of new ones.
The red-headed – and some might say slightly annoying – girl in the flower-patterned dress sitting at the piano has morphed into a punk goddess complete with low-slung bass guitar and fantastic all-girl backing band. She looks tremendous and super sexy. And her new songs are great too!.
Dressed all in black with a new brown and blonde hairstyle – with what I believe was a kitten ear headband – Kate looks every bit a rock ’n’ roll star.
From the start a few people in the audience didn’t know what to make of the punk-driven new material but Kate’s lyrics have always leaned towards punk. The only difference is that most of the new stuff is faster and thrashier and that’s not a bad thing.
All Talk, 3am and Death Proof were three new songs that stood out, the latter’s excellent bass riff was like something off a Fall record.
I actually had to remind myself I was watching Kate Nash. There was even a rap song thrown in which was actually surprisingly good.
The ridiculously catchy Conventional Girl is an obvious single but the new Kate is anything but conventional so we’ll have to wait and see.
She did delight the crowd with Foundations and Do-Wah-Doo but the night was all about showcasing her fast and furious new material in an intimate setting.
I can’t remember the last time I saw someone enjoy themselves on a stage more. Kate’s clearly determined to have fun while she freaks people out.