Live Review

Claire Nicolson – Catch, London

• 22nd Feb 2011

Playing a tiny venue can be a bit of a challenge, as you have to be louder and more engaging than the chattering audience. It can either make or break you and fortunately for Claire Nicolson, she accepted the challenge and shone through.

Having been a backing singer for the likes of Martina Topley Bird and Mike Oldfield, she has decided to go it alone and see how a solo career turns out and it looks promising.

Entering the stage with a spangly glitter number and her band, she gets on and shows the people of Catch what she is made of. Beginning with Pot Kettle Black, her powerful vocals pierce through the venue, making the crowd hush up and listen. She manipulates her guitar in such an endearing way, but when she reaches her top note, it is truly remarkable.

She looks visible exhausted by her first track and takes a small breather before propelling into her next; Summer Kiss. She stands with her back to the audience as she plays her guitar once more. You can tell that she’s there with the aim to please and it is certainly working.

The song Scorpion, which she explains was written in a barn in Tuscany, is a very tender track. This exhibits her folk side and shows off her beautifully delicate voice spectacularly. Suddenly the track gets louder and fiercer, and before you know it, you’re tapping away to the addictive beat.

Throughout her very short set, she swings between rock-a-billy, folk and blues, so it can be hard to keep up with her. Sometimes she even has hints of K T Tunstall to her vocals and demeanour.

Finishing with her single Toothpaste & Whisky, an upbeat poppy number which really gets the crowd going, and a cover of the Happy Mondays track, Step On, it appears she has worked her magic on the crowd as everyone is noticeably impressed by her fantastic performance.

Claire Nicolson has the potential to do extremely well on the live scene, as her unique vocals will wow a crowd into listening to what she has to say, and what she is saying is really rather interesting.