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This legendary venue has hosted more than its fair share of Rock n’ Roll’s finest bands over the years; from the Sex Pistols to the White Stripes, and tonight, well, Pop Levi. First up though is Remi Nicole, a girl-guitar combination with a boy on another acoustic just to add that little more to it. She starts her set off with a quiet folk style ode that fails to hold the crowds attention - it’s only when she’s a song or two more in that the vocals pick up and sound confident. Ms Nicole’s songs follow in the same vein as many English acoustic songs go-a little folky tinged with blues, and her vocals remind you of a Lilly Allen and Corinne Bailey-Rae crossover but there isn’t enough power in her voice nor strength in the music to make her more than a half decent act who is more than background noise to the busy room.
When Pop Levi finally steps on stage the crowd explode into applause as the colourfully-shirted guitar-toting singer and his blackly clad beatnik looking band start their first number - ‘Sugar Assault Me Now’ and from here on in it’s a fast, furious, jaw-on-the-floor musical ride. From the T-Rex style beats, to the vocals that could be Jack White’s, to riffs that are almost Hendrix-esque in places, this is a band so tight and so talented not a single note is missed, Indeed, throughout the whole set they build you up and break you down in seconds. Pop Levi is pure raw talent at its best and the sound…oh the sound is dirty glammed up blues. The crowd go wild dancing around to ‘Pick-Me Up-Uppercut’, ‘Skip Ghetto’ and ‘Mournin’ Light’, leaping on chairs to get a look at the sight on stage screaming as each song blends into another.
Pop Levi is stunning, Pop Levi will go far and Pop Levi is the closest anyone will get to the garage sound that defined the 60’s and the 70’s.
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