Kate Nash - May 3, 2010

UK-based singer-songwriter, Kate Nash might be lacking a bit of confidence on her recently released sophomore album, My Best Friend Is You, but she had no such issues on stage at Lincoln Hall on Monday night. Joined on stage by a four piece band to flush out the sounds, she jumped right in to the new material with the soaring "Paris" and commanding the crowd to dance before launching into, lead singe, "Do Wah Doo". The poppy, energetic start to the evening created a party-like atmosphere, with jealousy-fuelled old-school rocker set the crowd in motion a bit.

Nash sat at the keyboard, gleefully playing over the thumping beat of fan favorite "Mouthwash" before standing up to limp to the left side of the stage to strap on a guitar for "Kiss That Grrl". Nash proved an engaging, charismatic performer, talking frequently with the crowd between songs; somehow coming off equal parts charming and edgy. She responded to a fan inquiry as to the reason for her injured leg that she injured herself wrestling her grandma. The back and forth between the witty Nash and her fans was as much a highlight as anything that got played, with the most entertaining moment of the night coming courtesy of an intrepid young fan. Nash's sassy vocals, including her frantic spoken word conclusion to "Don't You Want To Share The Guilt", and the harder edge the band gave everything, most notably the explosively ragged "Take Me To A Higher Plane", was just as pleasant a surprise her personality.

She asked for quiet before "I Hate Seagulls", telling the already well-behaved fans, "don't do anything stupid", before explaining that a fan in New York called her a c*nt and yelled for her to stop playing, before showing up at a signing afterwards professing how much he loves her. Before the bliss of "Foundations", with most of the crowd singing along, Nash offered $20 to any fan that crowd-surfed from the back of the venue to the front, so she could high-five them, and then surf back. Midway through, new album standout, rat-a-tat love song "Later On", a fan, barely old enough to get in the eighteen and older show, made his way over fans' outstretched hands to the stage, to the delight of Nash. Not missing a beat on the keys, Nash invited him on-stage to dance (albeit awkwardly) behind her until the song's conclusion.

The song ended with the fan getting his high-five, but Nash surprised him by allowing him to sit at the keyboard and watch "Mansion Song" as she moved again to the side mic. Nash asked for the lights to be darkened for the song, potentially to mask the young fan's blushing face, as she launched into an f-bomb laced diatribe directed at female groupies looking for rockstar loving. The furious prog-pop tune worked great live because of how effectively Nash sold it, leading into the similarly post-punk leanings of "I Just Love You More". The two songs left you wondering what an all-out punk album would sound like from the British pop star. She called for the fan to return to the stage for the closing punk thrasher, "Model Behaviour".

The only disappointment in the set was the absence of "Pumpkin Soup" and the lack of an encore. The set ended with Nash hopping off-stage, using her 'hero' as human crutch. The house lights popped on to the sold-out crowd's amazement, leading to lots of groaning, confusion, shouting to coax her back out, and some 'encore' chants. The stage manager eventually came out to distribute the set lists to the fans, and indicating that she would be doing a meet-and-greet with fans at the merch booth. It is hard to feel short-changed after an hour and ten minute set where the artist hangs out afterwards to meet you. Kate Nash might write lovely pop tunes on album, but live she is all rockstar.

Paris
Do Wah Doo
Mouthwash
Kiss That Grrrl
Take Me To A Higher Plane
Don't You Want To Share The Guilt
I Hate Seagulls
I've Got A Secret
Foundations
Later On
Mansion Song
I Just Love You More
Model Behaviour

Upcoming Shows - Week ending May 9th

Monday, May 3rd - Lincoln Hall – 7pm – SOLD OUT

Headliner: Kate Nash

Opener: Supercute

UK-based singer-songwriter is touring in support of her recently released sophomore album, My Best Friend Is You. While it is not as instantly striking as her debut, there is plenty here to warrant the sold out crowd and keep her near the top of the list of UK pop stars worth your attention.

Thursday, May 6th – Park West – 7:30pm - $16

Headliner: Kaki King

Openers: An Horse

It is a pleasant surprise to find tickets still available to see this incredible, unique guitarist in action. Do yourself a favor and get in now, before more people notice.

Saturday, May 8th – Metro - 9pm – SOLD OUT

Headliner: Frightened Rabbit

Openers: Maps & Atlases, Our Brother The Native

This show has been sold out for a month now, with good reason. Consider this your warning to pay attention next time we tell you Scotland's indie darlings come through. Their recently released third album, Winter Of Mixed Drinks, is a fantastic album that has the unfortunate duty of following their modern classic, Midnight Organ Fight. Be sure to catch them at Lollapalooza this year if you are one of the unlucky shut out of this one.

Saturday, May 8th – Schubas – 7pm and 10:30pm - $14

Headliner: Canasta

Openers: Gregory And The Hawk (early), Brighton, MA (late)

Chicago's own orchestral pop geniuses, Canasta are finally ready to release their sophomore album, The Fakeout, The Tease And The Breather, on May 18th. These pair of album-release shows is your chance to both hear the new songs live and get your hands on the new album ten days before the rest of the world finds out how damn great it is; since the ticket price includes a copy of the new album. Head over to their site and check out the new songs, fully streaming, and get yourselves a ticket.

Podcast 14 - Play It, Don't Spray It

After a week away, the guys discuss upcoming shows from Canasta, Kate Nash, Frightened Rabbit, and review recent shows from Phantogram and The Whigs.

You can get to the podcast by subscribing to it through iTunes or Zune, or using the feed in any other podcast provider. Or, you can simply listen with the widget on the right of the page.

Indie Music Watch

Want to know what we think of the latest from John Butler Trio, Kate Nash, The Mynabird, fun., The Bird & The Bee, and Cloud Cult? Well then click here.

Spoiler alert - we like them.

Lilith Fair Announces Chicago Line-up, Location

This summer's re-vitalization of Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair will officially hit Chicago on Saturday, July 17th, at First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre. Similar to the set-up of the original festival, each of the dates will feature eleven artists. The only holdovers from each city will be the opening set from the local Our Stage winning artist and the closing set from, festival-founder, Sarah McLachlan. A handful of the line-ups have been announced, with Chicago's listed below:

'Our Stage Winning Artist'
Vedera
Kelly Clarkson
Kate Nash
Cat Power
Mary J. Blige
Meaghan Smith
La Roux
Heart
Vita Chambers
Sarah McLachlan

It is not quite our dream line-up, but Kate Nash and Cat Power are interesting picks and Heart adds a classic rock element to balance the poppy Kelly Clarkson, electro-bliss of La Roux and soulful Mary J. Blige.

For the record, the nine acts we would hand-pick from the list of those involved would be - Beth Orton, Brandi Carlile, Gossip, Metric, Tegan and Sara, Grace Potter And The Nocturnals, Kate Nash, Missy Higgins, and Sia. So, one out of nine isn't bad.... ?

Kate Nash Announces North American Tour Dates

Poppy UK singer-songwriter, Kate Nash has released a handful of North American tour dates in support of her soon-to-be-released sophomore album, My Best Friend Is You, produced by, former Suede guitarist, Bernard Butler. You can get your hands on the album starting April 20th, then catch her live a little over a week later at Lincoln Hall on May 3rd.

April 26 - Toronto, ONT - Mod Theatre
April 28 - Boston, MA - Great Scott's
April 29 - New York, NY - The Bowery
May 1 - Williamsburg, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
May 3 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
May 5 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
May 7 - Seattle, WA - Neumo's
May 8 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
May 11 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey

Podcast 7 - Gone Skanking

This week the guys talk about the re-formed Sublime, discuss new albums from The Black Keys and Kate Nash, and dish out a bunch of shows worth checking out. Oh, and we go skanking...

Subscribe on iTunes, or listen to the stream below. Thanks!

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New Kate Nash Incoming

While the likes of Duffy and, to a further extent, Amy Winehouse tried to test our patience with UK female singer-songwriters, Kate Nash's 2008 debut, Made Of Bricks, was a breath of fresh air from our friends across the pond. Fans will not have much longer to wait for her yet-untitled follow-up, since Nash has announced an April 20th US release date. No tour dates have been announced yet, but we will certainly let you know when you can catch her in Chicago when we find out. In the meantime, you can get an early listen to the first single, "Do Wah Doo", exclusively at Spin.com. If that doesn't hold you, might we suggest a healthy dose of "Pumpkin Soup" in the meantime.

Track list:

You’ll Never Listen

Kiss That Girl

Don’t You Want To Share The Guilt

I Just Love You More

Do Wah Doo

Higher Price

I’ve Got A Secret
Mansion Song

Oh Jay

Later On

Pickpocket

You Were So Far Away

I Hate Seagulls

Lilith Fair Adds Artists

The reformed Lilith Fair just added a boatload of very cool artists that might make you reconsider what you thought of Sarah McLaughlin's female-friendly festival. The latest to jump on board for the touring festival are: Loretta Lynn, Heart, Norah Jones, Cat Power, Sia, Gossip, La Roux, Beth Orton, Ceci Bastida, Erin McCarley, Frazey Ford, Julia Othmer, Kate Nash, Lights, Missy Higgins, Lissie, Marina & The Diamonds, Priscilla Renea, Rosie Thomas, Melissa McClelland, Toby Lightman and Elizaveta.

With more 'major artists' promised to be announced in the coming weeks, and site favorites like Tegan And Sara, Brandi Carlile and Grace Potter And The Nocturnals already on the list, it is hard to imagine passing up this collection of talent.

Check the Lilith Fair site for the full list of artists currently committed to the tour. We will update you as soon as we find out where and when Lilith hits Chicago.