Review: Phlexx – Nirvana – 8 May 2014

It’s always interesting when new venues pop up. There’s always a curiosity and anticipation to how it will all work out. How the venue will feel, how the music works there, how much you’re going to enjoy it… These are all questions that came to mind as I walked into Nirvana, a new venue which resides where Tantra used to be. But it’s had a makeover. It’s modern and chic with the purple décor and slick new refurbishments. It’s relaxed, with an ample seating area and a dance floor in front of the DJ booth and performance stage. It’s been open for a little while now, but this was my first time after its revamp, and I really like it. The relaxed atmosphere of the venue is enhanced by the music, as before the live music kicks off, there’s ambient reggae/soul playing, which is perfect. But before long, JOSH WHEATLEY makes his way to the stage.

Josh is always a treat to hear, and he opened proceedings perfectly with From The Wild, which was beautiful and delivered with a humble confidence that makes Josh so likeable. His songs almost feel fragranced, as the poignancy spreads through the room. He straddles confidence, charm and vulnerability perfectly. His set is varied, with some livelier numbers such as his Foster The People cover, which are welcomed amongst his sadder, calmer numbers. He ends with Follow The Smoke, which is the title off his recently released EP. It’s a sweet and delicate end to his set, and with the lyrics left lingering in the room, it sets the space for the next band to take to the stage.

HEAVY HEADS are next on the line up. Although the line-up seems to have undergone a few changes from the original, but none the less, Heavy Heads are ready to go, donning the performance space with their Cajon, guitar and Benylin. Yes, the lead singer has the lurgy. But this doesn’t detract from the performance actually, with his vocals sounding pretty impressive throughout, despite illness. They open with a pretty clever mash up of Nelly’s Ride With Me, and Michael Jackson’s Beat It, which I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying before so was looking forward to it. It’s a lively and engaging opener, with the clever merging of lyrical ideas and melodies, it’s really good fun. They engage in a fair bit of banter in between songs, which I remember from their set recently at Jamcafe. Although this time it was mostly about sipping cough medicine like it’s apple juice. They have a varied set, with fun quirks such as the lap style guitar. They’re very entertaining, and really chilled out, which suits the venue well and the general feel of the evening. They end their set with Bob Marley’s Redemption Song, which goes down a treat and fits the evening well, as reggae-fusion fills the gaps between the sets.

Finally, heading up the live performance for the evening is YAZMIN LACEY, who takes to the stage with her guitarist. She’s modest and humble on stage, which suits her performance style, and her music. Her vocals are soft and sultry, with a breathiness which is so smooth and almost haunting at times. Her vocals work well over the guitar, which often contrasts but compliments them, being lively and upbeat whilst her vocals remain cool and collected. Her songs are varied, with the guitarist developing his style of playing throughout, with a nice mix of fingerpicking and strumming. These musical parts are key to their set, as they add flavour and intrigue to Yazmin’s steady, straightforward melodic lines. Her songs are sweet and gentle, with gorgeous soulful lyrics and an open, honest delivery. I’d love to see even more emotion coming through, as I think she could really pull it off, but for the relaxed and chilled out atmosphere of the venue, it suited well. She got a massive response from the audience throughout, with lots of whooping and cheering, with Yazmin announcing into the microphone “You can tell that these are all my friends”. But even those who weren’t familiar with her work enjoyed it; From A Lover was a wonderful end to the set, ending the live performances with sweet melodic lines and lush guitar chords.

Nirvana is an interesting venue, which is nice to go to if you fancy your gig evening turning into a party, as I ended up doing some dancing to reggae afterwards! It’s great to see a venue not focusing on the charts and going for some more interesting musical directions. It was a great evening.

Review by Cassia Helme

Picture by Cassia Helme (not from this gig).