 |
| The Petebox live at The Bodega - Photo by Melimoi |
Nottingham's prodigal son has returned and, for the home leg of his tour he has a full-on HoodTown line-up in support.
First up are Captain Dangerous, a band from the I'm Not From London stable who are quickly becoming Nottingham’s foremost purveyors of indie-pop. With bags of catchy riffs, quirky lyrics, gypsy-inspired violins and the occasional brass instrument all vying for attention, they are always a treat to see on stage.
Next up is Nina Smith, who has been The Petebox’s tour support on his whole week-long UK tour, but she admits that she’s most nervous about tonight’s show because she is playing in front of a home crowd. She needn’t have been because as soon as she starts singing the room melts and is hers for the taking.
 |
| Nina Smith live at The Bodega - Photo by Melimoi |
Nina has a rare ability of being able to take heartache and pain and spin them in to golden soulful nuggets. Backed by her ‘boy band’, a stripped down outfit of acoustic guitar, bass and percussion, they leave space for Nina’s voice to weave its magic and it doesn't take long for you to be seduced under its spell.
Having seen her live numerous times over the past couple of years or so, she is really now starting to come in to her own performer and singer; and with her debut EP ready to drop, it seems that thing are only get better for Nina Smith.
 |
| Nina Smith live at The Bodega - Photo by Melimoi |
It’s The Petebox's first solo gig in Nottingham for three years and it’s unfortunate that he’s neglected his home town for so long, because as tonight’s gig proves, he is a force to be reckoned with.
The first part of his set is made up of collection of self-penned songs that show that Petebox is not happy to rest on his laurels and has been giving himself the challenge of combining his award winning beatboxing skills with more traditional songwriting. Mixing up pop, rock, soul and hip hop to an astonishing effect, he lays bare the tricks of his trade and shares with us the arsenal of loop stations, samplers and koass pads he uses to manipulate his voice and build up the songs from the bare bones to a fully formed bangers. It’s extraordinary stuff watching him lay down a beat with his voice and then slowly breathe life in to a song layer by layer until it has the whole room shaking.
 |
| The Petebox live at The Bodega - Photo by Melimoi |
We are also treated to a run through a heap of covers by bands as diverse as Nirvana and Crystal Castles, with Petebox acting the DJ and practically remixing the songs live in front of our eyes. His cover of Where Is My Mind? is given the biggest reception of the evening, which is bizarre as it’s not even the best thing he does, but after going viral it now has a life of its own and people have clearly taken it to their hearts.
But it’s at the end when he steps away from the covers and takes it “old school” that Petebox’s true talents are unleashed. Free of the shackles of sticking to a rigid song format, when he gives us some drum n bass style work outs by freestyling in to the mic you can’t help but be amazed at the sounds he can create using his voice. A true one-off talent and individual who hopefully won't stay away from his home town for too long again.
The Petebox and Nina Smith played at The Bodega on Thursday 7 July 2011.
Read comments and make your own
Comments