Kate Nash @ Joe's Pub 9/25

I have to be honest here and let you guys all know that I have a hard time listening to Kate Nash. Her music is beautiful, poppy, upbeat, lovely voice, but the lyrics behind the songs are sometimes very depressing - especially when you remember they are coming from the soul of a 19-year old girl. Still, my girlfriend loves her and I definitely enjoy her music despite the sadness behind it so we ventured out on a Tuesday night to catch her early show at Joe's Pub.

Now let me get this out of the way before I go on. I do not like Joe's Pub. Unlike my blogging buddy Chris over at Music Snobbery, I don't find the sound to be that good (though much better then some other venues in the area), I think the people that frequent the place are terribly rude, and I hate feeling under dressed at a freaking pop concert. Come on people there is no place for suits in pop music!

That said I somehow managed to put my hatred of the venue on the back burner for the evening and focus on the music. Nash came out stunningly cute, for a 19-year old girl, with a black and gold dress that I thought looked lovely on her (Rachael will disagree with that assessment, but I think she has an issue with the color yellow or any of its incarnations.) Starting her set with a track called "Mariella", Nash was absolutely messmerizing throughout the show. Her voice was distinct and clear, save for her between song banter which I hardly caught, her piano playing was fervent, engaging, and extremely fun, and it seemed like she was a bit shy but having fun thoughout her second show in New York.

Sometimes though fun doesn't make up the difference for things that are going wrong. First off all the drums were way too loud. On the album the percussion is barely noticeable, its there but well behind Kate's voice and piano; at Joe's Pub last night the drums were overpowering, occassionally taking the spotlight off of Nash and honestly they weren't manned by the most capeable drummer in the world. When Kate left the piano to play guitar for three or four songs in the middle of her set, you could see her one true musical weakness - playing the guitar. It seems when she is behind the piano she is confident and skilled in her instrument, but with the guitar strapped around her neck her songs just don't come across the same way.

Still, the majority of her set was spent behind the keys with a capable band backing her and a quiet crowd being respectful of the subtle nature of her songs. It was quite a performance from such a young lady, and shows that she has a world of promise within her.