The set started off with support from Jamie Woon. Initially I thought he was good, but as he continued every song seemed to sound the same and I was keen for the next support at to come on and cure the boredom, of which were I Blame Coco, the front woman being Stings daughter. As I’d only heard short parts of their songs on Youtube just before the gig I didn’t expect to be as into the music as actual fans in the room would have been, but I found myself loving the music and live performance and quickly downloaded the free track available when I returned home, after being given a wrist band outside with a link.
Entering the stage to the extended ‘Tigerlily’ introduction, Elly Jackson (singer) sported a full length faux fur cloak of which she soon took off and continued with many different costume changes. After seeing the duo and live band members perform on their previous tour there had been a clear improvement in confidence and overall drive. I was slightly disappointed at the fact the set list was virtually the same, only adding in a couple of extra songs, as along with other people that saw the previous tour I knew what was coming and there was no element of surprise.
Elly herself had improved greatly, dancing around the stage and covering a lot more ground than previously. Her vocals also had seemed to improve, as many people seem to think that she cannot sing well at all, she proves the crowd wrong in her live performances every time. I would personally recommend seeing the group in person before making final judgements on their abilities.
One personal highlight of the gig was the acoustic rendition of ‘Saviour’. Elly stated that this is how she originally wrote the song, as she was brought up playing guitar, taught by her father. This made the gig seem more varied than just the typical electro-pop style and instruments used on the album. The added guitar from Ben on certain songs also created more variety.
The group also covered the Rolling Stones song ‘Under My Thumb’. They made this song sound as if it was their own, and anyone who wouldn’t have known the original could have easily mistaken it for La Roux’s.
As it is the groups biggest hit, beating Michael Jackson to the top spot even on the first week of his death, the crowd all eagerly anticipated them to play ‘Bulletproof’. La roux used this track as the final song of the set, also being the final song of the encore. The track was extended, gaining all the final energy and excitement from the crowd before leaving the stage. The crowd reacted amazingly, just as they did when the band arrived on stage. At this point you could hear the strain on Elly Jackson’s voice, but as it was the final song of the night after an abundance of higher pitched singing it was easily understandable, although the crowd didn’t seem to react or be phased by this.
Overall, in comparison to the previous gig in the Leeds University Refectory, La Roux have shown a huge increase in stage presence, live ability, vocals and much more. Despite Elly Jackson not sporting her trademark quiff hairstyle!
Being a short set at a more low key festival than the likes of Leeds Fest, there isn’t much to comment on. I Blame Coco themselves were just as good as I saw them when they had supported La Roux. I believe the biggest downfall of this particular set was the fact that not many people in the crowd seemed to know who they were, hence very few people danced, moved or sang along with Coco, and it was evident that she noticed this and that this effected her performance as a front woman slightly.
