Jake Bugg and Georgie: Leeds Grand Theatre, Leeds — Review

Last week, Jake Bugg, supported by up and coming singer Georgie, took to the stage at the Leeds Grand Theatre. Gina Burley-Staffieri and Michael Parr were there to report on the gig for URY Music.

Georgie’s raw, yet soulful, voice shone on stage last night at the Leeds Grand Theatre, on a rather damp and dreary March evening. A simplistic stage set consisting of a Persian rug, various up-lighters and a lone mic-stand was perfect for this very intimate show, with an entirely seated crowd.

Georgie’s original songs, including those from her new EP (‘Too Much TV’, ‘Hard Times’ and ‘Company of Thieves’), went down fantastically with the crowd, and her original cover of ‘Be My Baby’ was simply mesmerising — I would even say better than the original.

Georgie has recently released her debut EP, ‘Too Much TV’

Georgie’s many musical influences, including Elvis Presley, could be heard in her performance, coming together to produce a Duffy-esque voice — a world away from her natural Mansfield accent (“my uncle played me an Elvis record when I was 12, and that opened me up completely to music… I had a little MP3 player that could hold 250 songs and every song was an Elvis song”).

An all-together excellent warm-up act, enticing the crowd (who could be rowdy at times), left us feeling sure Georgie will be hosting her own shows in the future.

The stage set did not change in the transition from Georgie to Jake Bugg, other than a wooden chair being brought on in preparation. The crowd hushed as the lights went down, followed by a tsunami of cheer and applause as Jake graced the stage, dressed casually, in black jeans and jumper.

The lighting was simplistic, with a blue glow, matching the structure of the staging.

Jake sat down and went straight into his opening song, ‘Indigo Blue’, ignoring the continuous sound of applause and cheer. As the song went on, the crowd hushed, ready to take in the rest of the concert.

After the first song, Jake addressed the crowd, welcoming everyone to Leeds, a city not too far from his home-town, Nottingham. He then went on to play more of his less-well known songs, including ‘Saffron’, ‘Strange Creatures’ and ‘Slide’, which went down very well. For ‘Simple as This’, the lighting changed to orange, a warmer atmosphere for this more touching song.

Jake Bugg’s performance at the Leeds Grand Theatre was an anomaly to the variety of comedy and musicals usually on show

As the concert went on, Jake often changed guitars, and checked with his assistant for the time. This was a key part of the concert, as it showed how natural Jake can be on stage, not needing a fixed set-list, and playing what he wanted to in the time provided. He also often addressed the quite rowdy crowd, who kept asking for the Oasis song ‘Wonderwall’ — perhaps a joke about his Liam Gallagher style hair… I’m unsure. Jake dealt with this well, laughing with the crowd rather than taking any of it seriously.

One of my favourite moments of the concert was not actually one of Jake’s songs, but rather him taking 1 minute to just jam in an improvised fashion on his guitar, really showcasing his talent — the audience was in silent, in awe, something which was rare for these loud fans.

As the concert neared it’s end, Jake played his most popular songs: ‘Two Fingers’, ‘Broken’, ‘Seen it All’ and finally ‘Lightning Bolt’. He then proceeded to the front of the stage and shook the hands of the whole front row.

Jake isn’t known for being the most approachable of performers; some know him to have a rather moody persona, but gigs like this show what kind of a person he really is, and that he clearly values the support of his loyal fans.

As the crowd left the theatre, I could hear nothing but raving comments about Jake’s and Georgie’s performances, and I would agree, this warming concert had something of a personal feel about it, perhaps it was the venue, but the music played a large part and allowed all who were there to escape their regular lives for a little while, and listen to two truly talented performers.

Article: Gina Burley-Staffieri

Photos: Michael Parr

URY Music Editor: Alex West

Michael and Gina’s interview with Georgie can be found here: https://www.mixcloud.com/URYMusic/georgie-interview/

If you want to catch the end of Jake and Georgie’s tour, these are the remaining dates:

O2 Guildhall, Southampton — 11th March

Brighton Dome, Brighton — 13th March

Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow — 25th March