10 years ago Kate Nash released Made of Bricks, treating the world to her quirky, often foul-mouthed style of musical storytelling. I have to admit, while I was aware of her hit 'Foundations', I wasn't really what one might call a fan. Fortunately my fiancé was. And even better, he'd seen her live a couple of times, so when I mentioned she was back in Oxford, his eyes lit up and he treated me to an evening of show-and-tell, where he played me most of her aforementioned first album and I realised what I had been missing all these years.
Fast-forward to a Monday evening on the Cowley Road, and however much I may have enjoyed listening to Nash in the comfort of my own home, I wondered what I was thinking, dragging us both out on a cold school night after a long day at work. The support act, Gothic Tropic, were just finishing their set as we arrived and the venue was packed with a good mix of youngsters crowding to the front of the stage, cooler twenty-somethings hanging out by the bar and, dare I say it, people like me, mid-thirties and a bit tired. Listening to Gothic Tropic as I write this, I wish my job didn't mean we always missed most of the support band on these occasions. With catchy pop-riffs and a velvety vocal, Gothic Tropic is, apparently, not a band as I thought while watching the three musicians rock out on stage: Della Peruti is Gothic Tropic, and she is definitely one to watch out for this year, with her unique style of guitar-led anthemic pop.
With our support act gone and the stage rejigged with ribbons stretched across the back wall and an old-fashioned wood-surround TV set balanced precariously towards the back of the stage, I asked my partner what kind of performer Nash was when he saw her all those years ago. He told me she wasn't particularly active, and reminisced about one track where she just sat at an upright piano with lightbulbs in the back of it. So with this quirky, acoustic idea I awaited the main act, ready for a chilled evening. So I have to admit, I was pretty surprised when, after some projected film footage and a Nash-ified rendition of Lesley Gore classic 'You Don't Own Me' opened the set, we were treated to an hour or so of joyous, toe-tapping, head-shaking punky, funky pop. Kate Nash has come back with even more balls than she started out with. Having lost none of her quirky, storytelling charm, she's got a stage presence that had me wishing I knew all the lyrics to her well-known tracks, so that I could feel as much a part of the show as the rest of the audience. Instead I simply enjoyed bopping away, almost breaking out to full-on head banging at various points, and smiling constantly. What a breath of fresh air. In between songs we were treated to tales of buying a dog for $20 in LA and falling completely in love with 'My Little Alien' which my partner and I will now be singing to our own little Jack Russell-Pug alien as often as possible. But I think my favourite dedication was to Donald Trump, and Nigel Farage. It's almost like her classic 'Dickhead' was written especially for them.
She spent some time promoting the mental health charity Mind, and talked about her own battle with OCD and anxiety, which further cemented my burgeoning love for this beautiful, fragile, feisty, talented human being.