Annie Eve at Bodega: 25/10/2014Supported by Jamie MoonGenre: Indie/Acoustic3 Stars
I turned up to Annie Eve’s performance at one of Nottingham’s most intimate gig venues, which has played host to big names such as Coldplay and The Arctic Monkeys, in high hopes. The tiny upstairs room at Bodega allows for the audience to be touchably close to the acts on the small stage, and can make for a pleasantly inclusive atmosphere between singer and audience. However, whilst there was no doubting the beauty of Annie Eve’s ethereal voice, her ability as a showman can be called into question.
Before her set began, Annie Eve was supported by Jamie Moon, who was more than just your typical twenty-something with sad eyes and a guitar. His slightly quivering acoustic numbers, mainly slow paced and soulful, are definitely well worth a listen on Youtube, particularly for those who are fans of artists such as Tom Odell and Ed Sheeran circa his ‘+’ album.
Annie Eve herself was reminiscent of Romy Madley Croft from the XX, with a touch of Florence Welsch and a sprinkling of Emma Louise of ‘My Head is a Jungle’ fame. Her voice was stunning, no question; personal highlights of the gig were ‘Roots’, an upbeat, slightly more lively track that engaged the audience a little more than earlier songs, and the cover of Elliot Smith’s ‘Angeles’. The set Annie Eve and her band played was obviously designed to showcase her beautiful and haunting voice, however the choice to play the slower, more moving songs and leave the ‘dancier’ songs until the end, may have left the atmosphere a bit flat. People at the gig just stood and stared, too self-conscious to really dance by the time the faster numbers were played (with the exception of one slightly inebriated older gentleman who thought it was appropriate to sway, bursting into loud applause even when Annie Eve was not singing, like some sort of proud parent).
Annie Eve’s rather docile personality and meek murmuring of thanks after each song didn’t cement her status as a showman, but then again, with her softly-softly genre of music, small crowd and confined space, you have to query how much of a showman could she have really been? Even Freddie Mercury would have struggled to light the world on fire.
Annie Eve was a good singer, but not the most entertaining performer. For fans only.
Image Sources
http://www.gigslutz.co.uk/annie-eve-live-koko-19-6-13/
Edited by Sam Carey