What a delight turned out to be at her first-ever visit to Denver for an show last Saturday night. I expected her to be perfectly satisfactory; what I didn’t expect was to be challenged by and enthralled with this rising Brit-pop sensation, right from the first warbling of her remarkable voice to the final, giggling post-encore farewell.
On record, Nash is comparable to the Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan, at least vocally, and her songs tend toward over-wordy, romantic pop. Live, she’s a different story.
Last Saturday night she was more like Poly Styrene, the frantic lead singer of the early punk band X-Ray Spex, than a light-hearted, soft spoken folk singer. She brought a definite, mature and sexy riot grrrl aspect to her songs as well, reminiscent of a young and brash Liz Phair, and positively bled Morrissey influence from time to time, sans all the whining and dour phraseology.
She alternated between guitar and a glowing, bubble-engulfed piano throughout the set, amid a stage decorated to look something like a child’s bedroom. Her band — including a drummer who was the spitting image of Herge’s “Tin Tin” character, and was impressively spot-on every beat — backed up songs that ranged from deceivingly complex pop to riotous, noisy punk rock anthems.
The version of “Merry Happy” bounced happily over Nash’s wry and often explicit lyrics, which created a perfect juxtaposition of schoolgirl with madame. “Mariella” described the melting of a young woman’s mental state behind a bright, poppy soundtrack and ended with a long, rolling “Never ever ever ever ever..” shouted probably 25 times, a trite image of an insane tantrum. When the band fell into “Foundations,” Nash’s biggest hit, the entire audience burst into jubilant cheers, and then proceeded to sing along, loudly enunciating every word.
At just about mid-set, Nash recited the terrifying “Mansion Song” (a highly dramatic, self-effacing poem) and succeeded in leading the audience to speechlessness. This was sorely missed during the resplendent and shrill “I Hate Seagulls” that Nash performed solo earlier. She also belted out fantastic, sped-up versions of “R n B Side,” “We Get On,” “Kiss That Grrrl” and “I Just Love You More” before leaving the stage. She came back for an encore and closed the evening with “Pumpkin Soup.”
Nash’s real talent, of course, is her brilliant songwriting, though many of her works tend to be over-worded. But it was her ease in slipping into wry, sardonic meanderings that endeared the audience — and kept them just a little off-kilter as to whether to cringe or chortle at quip after hilarious quip. In a perfect metaphor for her stage personality, she took a few seconds before “R n B Side” to explain exactly what a “wanker” is, since the tune is replete with the term. Seeing her easily, almost shyly, explain that the word means “..dick, or dickhead, or kind of a douchebag” was priceless, and unforgettable.
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Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at , and his giglist at .
Tina Hagerling is a Denver photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. Check out more of her .
