Concorde 2, 22nd October 2009
When someone unknown turns up on the Jools Holland Show, there’s no argument about it; they’re hot, and so Little Boots (the lucky thing) is no different. If anyone tells you they didn’t first see her banging on the piano and clicking her fingers on Later… with JH, they should get themselves a TV guide. She has vocals seemingly inspired by black and white movies, is a multi-instrumentalist with mildly geek-like qualities that give you the image of Lee Curreri playing with the synths in the opening sequence of Fame, and yet she falls into the same category as soulful, indie type solo singers like Florence and the Machine and Bat For Lashes. Like them, she’s just so effortlessly herself; damn cool in her own unique way. Much more happy-go-lucky than her peers, she sings her electro pop tunes with a ‘here I am and lesson learned’ kind of attitude, and if you haven’t heard her album it’s probably safe to say that the unreleased tracks are worth giving a listen before you make any judgements.
The lady in question and her band entered onto a freakishly blue Concorde2 stage concealed under a lone ranger-esque assortment of sparkly cloaks. She really was lovely, small and charming; if she were smaller I’d like to put her in my pocket and take her out when I feel sad. She delivered her set with truly magnificent Kate Bush arm movements and a bazaar array of musical instruments of the piano origin (one of which she told us was from Snooper’s Paradise… get in!). It was quite a show, with some quite good body ornaments (Bjork worthy) and some down-to-earth banter in between songs. It’s hard not to make these comments about other artists; there does indeed seem to be a new breed of female artists who are frequently having comparisons made about them to certain left of centre pop legends. It would appear that the task at hand for Little Boots now is to hope that one day someone might be compared to her.
Words by Kate Elliott
Photography by Gus Manzano
myspace.com/littleboots
What did you think of the gig?
Kathy and Jay: “Really lovely. She was so… human!”
