Live Review: Nadine Shah

King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, “a lush venue” by Nadine Shah’s own reckoning, is a tiny squat of a room set in the heart of Glasgow’s bristling, busy city centre. Regularly voted best small venue in the UK, it was once even placed seventh on a list of bliss-inducing places you had to visit before you die by The New York Times. Tonight, it plays host to the aforementioned Shah, a Geordie singer-songwriter from whom many are expecting big things…

‘Nothing Else To Do’, a track from her recently released second LP, ‘Fast Food’, soundtracks the audience’s anticipation for Shah’s entrance. A bold move opting for one of your own songs as introduction music, maybe? The conviction and charm with which she’ll deliver her performance, however, will assign the song’s lyrics, “and there was nothing else to do, but fall in love…” a particular importance, in relation to tonight’s proceedings anyway.

After ‘Divided’, a soothing, slow-paced affair, things really get going once ‘Fast Food’, the opening and title track from her sophomore album, begins. It struts and twangs irresistibly, and wouldn’t sound out of place in a Wild West saloon either; batwing doors swinging shut behind what one can only imagine would be a buccaneering entrance. Thudding drums and plodding bass pound, as Shah, in a sultry hush, bemoans a string of frivolous lovers she’s apparently negotiated as fast as, well, fast food – momentarily satisfying, probably guilt-inducing, but definitely bad for you.

It struts and twangs irresistibly, and wouldn’t sound out of place in a Wild West saloon

The same certainly can’t be said for Shah’s set. It really is a joy to behold (“that was just beautiful!” exclaims one punter) and the entire thing oozes class: from her brooding, operatic voice to the precise instrumentalism she and her band generate. If ‘Fast Food’ evoked a Western saloon shootout, ‘Matador’ conjures images of the escalation of a bull fight. Soft acoustic guitar plucks during the verse evoke the build-up, the sizing up of the competition, and the chorus’ roaring, distorted guitar, the whisking away of the red flag as the bull comes charging by in near-miss. It’s definitely the new stuff tonight which is working best.

After such drama, Shah’s warm Geordie patter is practically a welcome comfort. (Her accent is in fact, almost entirely unintelligible from her singing voice.) She possesses a stage presence, the like of which I haven’t seen since Dolly Parton graced Glastonbury’s hallowed Pyramid stage. A quip about her debut never receiving as much airtime on 6 Music as her most recent effort is quickly followed by an anecdote recounting a creepy friend’s flatmate who could ascertain a cigarette brand by the slightest of sniffs. This self-deprecating sense of humour is reflected in her humbling, thankful grin as the audience whoop, cheer and clap appreciatively at the end of every song. With a likeable (loveable?) persona and the songs to boot, surely both will see Shah go far..?

Their eventual amalgamation is the sweetest of sweet music to thy ears

By far and away the greatest peak of a set with very few, if any, troughs, is the double whammy of recent singles ‘Stealing Cars’ and ‘Fool’ which closes the main set. The former’s soaring melody and emotional vocals make it no surprise national treasure Guy Garvey counts himself (amongst others) as a fan. As for ‘Fool’, it showcases the devastatingly scathing rhyming couplet: “You, my sweet, are plain and weak/Go let the other girls indulge the crap that you excrete”. Ouch. Some ex, somewhere, has just been hit for a metaphorical, lyrical six. Dramatically, guitar, drums, and then bass are brought in one by one, and their eventual amalgamation is the sweetest of sweet music to thy ears.

Perhaps it is apt King Tuts sits astride St. Vincent Street. Annie Clark’s baroque pop and gripping, soulful voice is certainly not dissimilar to Shah’s own… What marks Shah out though, is her perfect blend of on-stage banter (she really is full of beans – although the gin might have had something to do with that) and confident, mesmerising songsmithery. The combination of these, one hopes, will see Shah shake off labels of ‘up and coming’, to become a fully blown formidable live act.