The beautiful Jessie Ware

"Devotion" was one of my favourite albums of 2012. Simplistic, stunning & sophisticated. You need this woman in your life!

Monday nights are normally extremely dull, you're probably still that little bit hungover from the weekend and on a serious downer that its the beginning of the week again. However this Monday night was far from that.

With nothing planned & a few extra quid lying about i sent a friend a text & asked if she wanted to join me later that evening. Her reply was "Why the hell not?" Looks like we were going.

Not in the mood for too much hanging about, i decided to pick my friend up that little bit later. I thought we were going to make the supporting act Laura Mvula, however the weekends lack of sleep had got the better of said friend and i therefore had to sit & wait while she got dolled up.

We rocked up to the o2 Academy in Oxford just after 9 and had to slither our way through the very excited crowd. It was a diet coke & bottle of water night tonight! And i was stuck behind the tallest person in the venue - typical. I wasn't going to let this ruin my evening.

It seemed we had timed it perfectly. Within 5 minutes of finding our spot, Jessie was on stage sporting her usual glamorous underground look - cropped top showing off her toned midriff & fiery red lipstick. This woman meant business.

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SET LIST:

Devotion

Still Love Me

Night Light

110% / If You're Never Gonna Move

Sweet Talk

Imagine It was Us

Swan Song

Taking in Water

Valentine

No to Love

Wildest Moments

Running

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When she launched straight into "Devotion" it was as if i had pressed play on my iPhone in the car - but obviously ten times more incredible. I felt like a little girl again getting that all excited feeling. I was about to be blown away.

As she continued to have the crowd gripped gently within the palm of her hands, she stopped to chat after each song and then on to introducing the next. Most gigs i go to needed little introduction however it was nice to see Jessie break that barrier between performer & the audience. I felt my money had been greatly received at the Ware-house! I'll definitely come back again. However i think she suffers a little bit from word vomit, just like me. We are similar in more ways then i thought! Both babes of course.

Each track that she sang, i was convinced that it was my new favourite - although its was so hard to decide. All the hairs on my arms stood up as she sang "Night light". Its such a soothing song & i found myself swaying subconsciously  This woman had me hypnotized  "110%/If you're Never Gonna Move" had everybody bobbing along in the crowd. Co-written by Julio Bashmore, this song was set to get everyone moving.

Apart from a few technical hitches beyond Miss Ware's control, the music kept flowing and Jessie kept on finding that little extra bit of WOW for each song. Dedicating it to her brother, she sang "Taking in Water". I didn't know this until that moment but this was by far my favourite track and performance of the evening. Jessie made it look so effortless, however portrayed such passion & emotion throughout. I dared to think what else this woman was capable of.

As she continued to charm her audience, she introduced her drummer Dornik Leigh to the front of the stage & explained that he would cover the part of Sampha in the duet called "Valentine". The boy did good! I had already heard Dornik sing on a cover of "Diamonds" by Rihanna when Jessie had performed in the BBC Radio 1 live lounge a month or so previous to this, however nothing beats the real thing of course. It was really amazing to see Jessie encouraging Dornik so much, but then she knows exactly what its like to start from the bottom and work her way up. Give it a few years and this soulful young man may surprise us even more! 

As her performance drew to a close, Jessie made a joke in reference to her short set by saying "I've only having one album!". Yes she was right but not many can say they've had a debut album as mesmerizing as hers.

To sum the evening & this lovely lady up, it was a true pleasure to have been there. Jessie is a natural performer with a twinkle in her eye and one who really appreciates her fans. Already accustomed to "life on the road", i wish her all the luck for the rest of her European tour.

2012 was a monumental year for Jessie and 2013 is already proving to be extremely kind to the 28 year old.

If you haven't already, then you'd be a fool to ignore "Devotion" any longer. Click here to check it out.

Peace & Love

Proud to be "Brit-ish" - All things Brits 2013

"It seems some of best things in life begin with a B:"

The Brits//Ben Howard//Babel

THE BRITS 2013

Having not being a massive fan of slogging in front of the TV, the Brits turns this on its head. There is nothing like seeing some of your favourite artists reap the rewards they deserve.

Like every year you take one look at the categories and its almost laughable that some artists have been classified as the same caliber as the others. However i won't go into that.

Lets talk Brit winners, performances & all the wonderful things in relation to one of my favourite awards ceremonies of the year (And leave out the boring bits that don't warrant a sentence)

British Male Solo artist - i was ecstatic when Ben Howard won this. For me the choice was simple. He has to be one of the best British artists of this decade without a doubt. Each time i pop on "Every Kingdom", i lose all concentration and slip into a very reflective mood - which isn't good when you're driving to work. "Only Love" & "Old Pine" are by far the best. Every time i listen to "Old Pine" it brings back the best memories I've had with friends in the summer - one of which was seeing Ben Howard live on a scorching Saturday outside the Big top stage at Bestival. The man is magical.

British Female Solo Artist/ Mastercard British Album of the year – As one. (because Emeli Sandé really doesn't need much more publicity..)

Hats off to her – 2012 was a stupendous year for the bonny lass. “Our Version of Events” was on repeat in my car months & her performance at the Olympics (and the thousand other venues) was simply stunning. However can that be the last we hear from Miss Sandé for a while please? I know you were all thinking it, so there – I said it.

British Breakthrough – Ben Howard again. Yes! Tough decision? Damn right. For me it was only really going to be out of a choice of 4 though (who put Rita Ora next to these guys??). Each of them in their own right are winners though. 2012 was a fantastic year for Ben Howard, the start of something huge for Alt-J and Jake Bugg, and a tremendous start to a long career in the biz for the beautiful Jessie Ware. Commiserations to the others, however Ben Howard worked his cojones off this year. Bravo Sir!

British Group – This brought joy to my little round face. I love Mumford & sons. So much so that I've been extremely fortunate to have seen them live 4 times to date. All at such different venues - twice at Glastonbury Festival (come rain & shine), at a very intimate gig in Folkestone & more recently at the o2 Arena in London just before Christmas. They get better every time & the atmosphere is on a completely different level. You just want to hug the random guy on your right by the end of the gig and have a little cry that its over.

I always find it very annoying when multiple favourite bands are in the same category. If i could, i would've given a quarter of the polka-dot masterpiece to The XX. Another incredible band - "Coexist" is a little diamond.

Best International Group – The Black Keys

This was such a tough call. Well, only really between The Black Keys & Alabama Shakes. They were the only two real bands. Although i think it was only fair that Dan & Patrick scooped up this one. They are your typical example of a couple of nerds at college, kept their heads down and boom! The Black Keys were born. "El Camino" opened up a huge commercial can of worms for the boys, therefore this one belongs on their mantelpiece. Alabama Shakes have an amazing career ahead of them so there really is no need to fret.

International Male Solo – Frank Ocean. What a cool guy. His acceptance speech was just so cute too! How can i be friends with him? - help! I did have a snigger at the nominees though. Odd kettle of carp or what? Big love for Michael Bublé, Gotye? Come on - the guys only had one hit. I won't even comment on Jack White & Brucey. Back to Frank Ocean though... "channel ORANGE" has got to be up there with one of the best well written & produced R&B albums in a very long time. Such a bold statement i know, however there is only one word to suffice... WOW.

Give it "Everything Everything"

Going to a gig on Valentines day with a friend seemed like a reasonable alternative to the "lack of boyfriend" situation i had on my hands...

 The band - Everything Everything // The venue - The o2 Academy, Oxford // The result - pleasantly surprised!

When the four piece from Manchester first came on the scene over 5 years ago, i will be the first to admit that i certainly didn't predict such sudden commercial success for them.

Okay, Jonathan "Everything" has a unique voice - so what? Okay, so they were this new British Indie pop band - how many is it now? However its exactly these two factors that have established the band firmly within the music scene.

EVERYTHING EVERYTHING

As it was my first time going to see a gig at the o2, i was half expected to be pushed aside by the eagerly awaiting "hardcore" fans - although i was surprised to see such a varied turnout. Granted there were a lot of couples, however there was a lot of "older" people. It then dawned on me that the gig was 18+ so half of the "older" people were more than likely accompanying their sprogs. Still, a mixed turnout says to me that Everything Everything have their fingers in many a pie!

I will briefly discuss the support act - Outfit - as i don't have many words for them as such. Signed to Double Denim Records, the 5 piece from Liverpool definitely are "different". However just because they weren't my cuppa, it doesn't mean they wont necessarily be yours! Check them out by all means...

Check out Outfit on facebook

Like at all gigs, as soon as the support act scarper its time to refuel - (Captain Morgans & coke for me please!), the proximity of the venue  drastically compacts & its as if someone cranks the heat right up. 

It wasn't long before we were graced with the presence of Jonathan Higgs (Lead vocals, keys, guitar), Jeremy Pritchard (Bass,Vocals, Keys), Alex Robertshaw (guitar,vocals,keys) and Mike Spearman (drums, vocals, keys,) and the next 90 minutes are history.

The first thing i noticed about the lads was how impeccably dressed they all were, each sporting a real sense of unique style - you would definitely bring them home to meet the rents! As they delved into their set, there was something about them i couldn't put my finger on. Then it came to me - they were just so effing cool. Mix that with Jonathans' amazing ability to work the crowd like putty and Jeremy's essence to be able to float around the stage with his magical bass guitar & you have the setting for the perfect intimate live performance. As a band they were incredibly slick and put on a really decent performance, portraying their passion for what they do best.