Ella Eyre LIVE @ Nottingham Rescue Rooms, 27.03.14

The predicament Ella Eyre finds herself in is a strange but successful one. Despite the fact that she is yet to release her debut album (and won’t be for a good few months) dates on her first solo tour have had to be rescheduled to bigger venues to fulfil demand.

Following her appearance on Rudimental’s #1 ‘Waiting All Night’ –where the track went on to win Best Single at this year’s BRITs – Ella’s star has continued to soar. (She also performed a mash-up of the track with ‘Pompeii’ by Bastille, who she’s previously worked with.) The BRIT School graduate and runner up to both the BBC’s Sound Of 2014 and BRIT’s Critic’s Choice has a venue full of fans, including #1 fan; her mum, two well picked support acts that individually reference her drum and bass beats and well-crafted songwriting skills, a tight band, a merch stand selling tote bags and earring bearing her regal logo… and just one released EP of three new tracks to play.

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Not that it matters. Ella’s 9-track set is performed by a young artist with the vocals of Beyonce and the endearing cheek of a Monkee (tonight she’s wearing a tight, skeleton onesie and boots beneath that explosion of dip-dyed hair). This is the last night of her tour and she’s clearly determined to make it one to remember. ‘Don’t Follow Me’ opens the show, switching some of the big beats for rockier influences and a focus on the electric guitar. What’s instantly obvious is that Eyre isn’t going to be sticking to the blueprint of ‘Waiting All Night’, but she’s trying to build something bigger around it. Although the lyrics to that track were simple to say the least, her own material manages to incorporate a personal stance with a chorus for all. On ‘Going Nowhere’ she has the crowd singing the chorus before she’s started the track. Fortunately, just one rehearsal was all we needed. (In a way it’s as though she’s blended Rudimental with Emeli Sande, but created something more interesting than their collaboration.)

To pad the set out a cover of Basement Jaxx’ ‘Good Luck’ is a welcomed addition, until 19-year old Eyre describes it as “one of my favourite childhood songs”. Way to make a fan feel old… A second cover is probably only known by a handful of the crowd: Support act Jake Isaac and his acoustic guitar are invited onto the stage to perform his track ‘Long Road’ with Ella and her band. While his version is presumably a much more sombre affair, this version is a Mumford-esque, jumping, readymade anthem. Naturally ‘Waiting All Night’ receives the best reaction – including a cheer so long that it appears to have its own encore – but next year it’s likely that Ella’s own songs will have the same affect.

1966350_10154055382370227_1775655702_o‘Home’ – written by Eyre during her time at boarding school – is the only moment to slow down the set briefly, but does so without being boring, while show closer and upcoming single ‘If I Go’ might be the track we didn’t know we’d been waiting all night for. In a John Newman sort of style, the chorus was designed to stay inside heads for days on end (“If I go, will you love me, will you love me if I come back?”) while the music is already one step ahead of her EP ‘Deeper’.

 

So perhaps not so much of a predicament, then: The fanbase is ready, the album’s almost done, perhaps Ella Eyre is just the most organised act we have at the minute… And that’s why she’s been waiting.

Dan Bull

 

Dan Bull

Dan Bull

Reviews Editor
London. Likes: Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, Prince Charles Cinema, Duran Duran Dislikes: Soreen, All-hits setlists, "I liked them before everyone else..."