Rob Nichols @ Mixing Tin
By Sarah JawadAfter our pre-drink sesh-on, at what was quite possibly the cheesiest pub venue that Leeds city centre has to offer, we felt bitter, confused, traitors to our good selves and to what we knew to be the real reason the city of Leeds has built its reputation as the capital of live music. We were in search of something, something that'd whet our appetites and make us forget the sham of before, the sham that was the drunkard coming onto everyone in sight with his wandering hands and his kisses... eeeuuugh the kisses! The sham that was me and my fellow colleagues bopping along to Chesney Hawkes and then going on to request something equally pungent to shake our booties to.... we knew the madness had to stop sometime, so not wanting to delay any longer we gathered our belongings and headed straight to the Mixo where we slowly but surely began to regain both our dignities and our tastes in music!
At 10pm, Rob Nichols and Band took to the stage and their opening number "Better Place" proved enough to rally up the punters and have them all crowd round the stage front in anticipation; an early indication of how the band would be received by the end of the night. The band performed a tight set and complemented Rob's vocals perfectly without drowning out the subtleties of his voice; although still providing what was essentially a "heaviness" for me and the rest of the posse to get our grooves down to.
The music certainly did seem to appeal to all tastes with one individual proceeding to "mosh" throughout the entire set even slowing the pace of his erratic head movements during the quieter numbers. This for me really did highlight the different genres that the music does appeal to; and even if the music wasn't necessarily to his taste, he'd managed to identify in it something that enabled him to recreate the degree of passion he'd be able to express at a "thrash metal" gig. Moshing aside... the definite highlight of the night for me was Rob's solo performance of "Love is." The track certainly marked the contrast between his solo stuff and that of the band's. Whereas the band promotes a seemingly "get-up" approach, the solo material is more of the "swaying head, clicking fingers" variety; the two side by side seemingly complimenting one another well.
Back to the solo performance of the night, I personally consider "Love is" to be the stronger of his tracks both lyrically and in terms of showcasing the genuine talent exuded by the velvety tones of his voice. What for some may have been a far too emotive performance for the night compared with the tracks heard earlier in the set was for many, essential in unwinding after a working week and indeed after a blinding opener by the band. There was strangely some comfort to be had from listening to the haunting lyrics and frequenting "lad-dee-dah's", but for many there was an awkwardness as to how to respond to such an emotionally draining track. For me, it only seemed natural to grab a partner and assume the ball room position and to watch as others in the crowd followed suit. The music... choreographically adaptable!
The ability of Rob Nichols and Band to snap the audience out of the weariness that "Love is" had left them in and to get them to re-energise themselves immediately for the remainder of the "up beat" set was something that seemed to come easily to the band and was by no means forced; emphasising a somewhat hidden versatility.
