GIG REVIEW: JACK GARRATT FEAT. KLOE, KING TUT'S

JACK GARRATT+KLOE (SOLD OUT)

KING TUT'S-31st JULY 2015

SETLIST:

SYN PT. 1

WATER

CHEMICAL

LET ME LOVE YOU (MARIO COVER)

REMNANTS

WORRY

WEATHERED

THE LOVE YOU'RE GIVEN

+some spectacular improv.

"Little bit music little bit comedy."

THE SUPPORT:

To start the nights proceedings in an already packed King Tuts was Scottish songstress KLOE.

This girl is not to be underestimated, though her interaction with the crowd was shy to begin with that changed the second her band began to play. Overall a euphoric experience. The set and general themes revolved around life as a teenage girl getting "f'*cked over by boys" and growing up in a city, accompanied by a knock you sideways drum beat and all round pleasingly sultry and atmospheric instrumentals. If you didn't find yourself engaging in an angsty slow dance during this set, you were doing yourself a disservice.

Seeing an artist at this level of her career fully deserving of single name status is refreshing to say the least.

TWITTER: @KLOEmusic
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/kloemusic

THE MAIN ACT:

Jack Garratt walks on to a back-lit stage as smoke subtly eclipses the room and assumes position behind a plethora of instruments. He is not just a one-man band but single-handedly the conductor and musicians of his very own new-age orchestra. He is a strikingly charismatic performer that engages with the crowd in a way that I've never witnessed before, I do have respect for anyone that can take the Glaswegian humour and odd chant here and there.

It is mersmerising just to stand back and watch him perform, his musicianship is the height of sophistication, though savage in parts. He immerses himself fully in the music and during moments of clarity in which lighting and sound collide he is the picture of a caged beast shape-shifting with passion in time to the beat.

The highlight of the set for me was new single 'Weathered' a performance done acoustically though in that same artistic Jack Garratt kind of way. This was the 'hold the person next to you and have a quiet weep into your cup' kind of ballad. No gimmicks just a flaunt of Jack's infinite vocal range and some smoother than silk guitar riffs. Never have I ever seen a venue go as silent as it was during this song. Goosebumps and nostalgia.

Being a smaller venue acoustics were faultless and I do worry how this translates on larger stages. If even half of his humour and interaction is lost, seeing quite how cool this guy is in conversation, it would be quite disappointing to know that others are missing out on this side of his set. However that's a drop in the ocean that can be compromised for the talent this soloist has.

TWITTER: @JackGarratt
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/jackgarratt

I cannot recommend either act any higher, they are both well deserving of recent media attention and countless radio plays. After all, it's not everyday you see a teenage singer songwriter with the stage presence of someone in the business longer than her lifetime nor a male soloist with the vocal range of an opera singer and multi-instrumental know-how that could put some fully fledged bands to shame. Much excitement for the future of both acts, well worth experiencing for yourself.