Kate Nash LIVE REVIEW (Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee)

Photo Credit: Melissa Miller

Formerly known for her quirky and dreamy pop songs, largely about relationships, heard on her debut album Made of Bricks, which skyrocketed to number one landing Kate Nash a BRIT Award for "Best Female Artist." Set out to inspire a new generation of female musicians, she soon returned with her followup album, My Best Friend is You, which was followed by a few years involving fashion, acting and writing.

Photo Credit: Melissa Miller

Fast forward to 2013 and she's back with her highly anticipated third full length LP, Girl Talk," which she describes as, "the best to date, an emotional purge and mission statement for women over the world." So, when I was approached with the opportunity to cover a Kate Nash show, I really had no idea of what to expect and to be perfectly honest, I hadn't listened to much of her work. I had a similar experience a few years ago when I was presented with the opportunity to cover City and Colour and I left in awe, feeling somewhat foolish that I had not listened to him prior to. 

Originally, what I expected was the exact opposite of what I got. Instead of a quirky female singer/songwriter acoustic guitar in hand, Kate pleasantly surprised me with a new style, edgy, aggressive and "riot-punk rock" like. Truthfully, as a 27 year old-male, I felt somewhat uncomfortable and out of place, at times having difficulty relating to the subject matter on topics such as, "bad friends that you just can't seem to shake." Strangely enough, I found myself remembering my early teens, filled with rebellion and bad decisions.

Photo Credit: Melissa Miller

Although at times I could't fully relate and without sounding like a complete hater, Kate Nash really does put on an energy filled unforgettable performance, making it easy to see why she has developed such a loyal following. The show started off with elegant intro music from the 50's, while her all female band took the stage wearing all black.

Shortly after, Nash stormed the stage in an extraordinary red dress to play a variety of songs such as, "Foundations" and "Dickhead" from her debut album Made of Bricks. She made a point to interact with the crowd in-between every couple of songs before continuing on to play others such as "Birds" or "Doo Wah Doo" from My Best Friend Is You.  "OHMYWOD!" and "Fri-End?" were amongst a few of the new tracks performed from Girl Talk. She returned for the encore to play what I thought was "Merry Happy," but if I'm wrong forgive me. Regardless, it was good. 

At times a bit elementary, but nonetheless fun to watch, Kate Nash has an easy, natural stage presence with the ability to let her beautiful voice shine over distorted guitars accompanied with constant dance. With female artists and groups becoming more popular, Nash continues to stay relevant, leading the female movement with her natural and effortless style which translates from album to her live show extremely well.