A few days ago (01/08/14) I went to The Elgin pub in Notting Hill to see Retrospective For Love support Ego Ella May at a free gig. I had never heard of Ego Ella May before this gig but after seeing her live, I'll do my best to make sure that everyone else knows who she is.
First on the stage was the act that I actually came to see - Retrospective For Love. It's definitely tough being a support act in a place like The Elgin especially doing an acoustic set, because being a pub, most people came there to eat and chat and so the noise and chatter was often drowning out the music. So much so, that at times when the music would get louder, so would the voices. However, despite the noise, the performance was really, really good. Performing tracks from their brilliant self-titled debut EP and also an extremely nice cover of Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc.". They finished up by bringing on a friend - Otty - featuring on a new track of theirs, "Water And Dust". This seemed to really catch the crowd's attention; the noise dampening and heads turning towards the stage. Great end to a great opening set.
Ego Ella May stepped on stage, band in tow, the crowd quiet and expectant for what the headliner was about to do. There were also a few known artists in the crowd, Kemi Ade and Denai Moore amongst them - Ego Ella May was going to have to make an impression. She did. What made it even better was that she did the first song solo - just her and her guitar. However, the addition of her band for the rest of the set took it into overdrive. Singing songs from her two EPs - The Tree and Breathing Underwater and including some beautiful covers of Common's "Come Close" and Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman". Although the room was obscenely hot and packed she had the crowd bopping, clicking, clapping and singing along the entire time. It's a nice change to watch an actual artist instead of another musician. Awesome set.
Best way to start off any month in my opinion. This woman will do great things in the near future - keep an eye out.
Overall Rating - 7.5/10
Here are some pictures from the night...
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