LIVE REVIEW: THE WORST KEPT SECRET TOUR - KIER, RHIANNON PAIGE, GEORGIA NEVADA - THE PORTLAND ARMS - CAMBRIDGE
With the "Worst Kept Secret" tour not stopping off in the capital, it was time for #TEAMw21 to decamp to the provinces, to Cambridge and The Portland Arms for an evening of chaos, confessions, cross talking but most of all some damn fine songs. With two of the performers suffering from varying levels of illness and the Typhoid Mary of the group fully recovered, the expectation might have been that performance levels might drop, however there were no signs of this being the case on a truly excellent night, with a number of fellow performers on hand in the audience watching on.
Things would commence with a song released by both Kier & Rhiannon, "By and By", and immediately from the spoken intro's it was apparent that Rhiannon's illness was causing her voice to be somewhat lower, then normal. With Kier providing the guitar, it was an ideal chance to ease the vocals in, and set the high standard for which the evening would have to live up to. Georgia Nevada's introduction to "Cookie Cutter" never ceases to both amaze and depress with its revelations of how operators in the music industry can treat women. With her cold induced, slightly huskier voice, it gave an additional menace to the line "I'm not your Cookie Cutter dream" given additional drama with sweeping guitar strokes, on the key words.
Rhiannon Paige would open her solo account with "The Story Is Mine", a more strident guitar style and a vocal, that refused to give in to illness. Such was the determination in the vocals that the chorus, simply grabbed and held your attention. At one point Rhiannon's guitar playing would become occasional, as her vocals intensified, searing their way into the walls of the Portland Arms. The associated applause appreciating the effort being spent.
The second round started with a couple of new songs, Kier's song "Billy Joel" was revealed to be a potential cunning marketing move before a note was played, however it was soon apparent that it was a great song in its own right, and well deserving of being a future single, with lots of different section to grab the listener as well as a layers of lyrics to dive into.
Georgia Nevada would follow with a new song of her own, "Hope You See It", that came with another jaw dropping intro. It would also involve breaking the fourth wall while performing, to explain the meaning behind the lyrics in a future verse!.
Rhiannon would dip into the past, with "Lost", a song only rarely played. Delicately picked guitar, would join heartfelt lyrics to make something special, that seemed to have the whole room holding its collective breath. With glorious extended notes, this was a privilege to behold. News of it having 500k streams came as both, no surprise wand well deserved.
The run of excellent songs just kept on coming, Kier would unveil "Let The Credits Roll", another song from the forthcoming album, indeed its title track. A slow burner, gradually building, while pulling in lots of movie related terms, moving to a definite climax - one to certainly watch out for next year. Georgia Nevada would then give some insight as to how the startling cover of her album "Backfire" was created. Her song "Damaged Goods", started slow and delicate, with Georgia upping her vocal and guitar playing volume considerably after the opening verse and chorus.
It was Rhiannon who would lighten the mood, though maintain the quality with her look back at different times with "Live Like It's The 80's". Full of references highlighting the differences between now and then, it would see Rhiannon plant her right foot down as she sang. The first half would close out with Kier's song, inspired while waiting in a shopping queue in Zara, listening to fellow queuers stories. The song "Be My Own Boyfriend" all the better for having rich source material, was an uptempo country affair, complete with it's own "B M O - Be My Own Boyfriend" singalong on which Georgia and Rhiannon would provide backing vocals like a sixties harmony group.
The second half would start with the reading of the audiences "Worst Kept Secrets" which would be a combination, of sad and funny revelations with the rules of anonymity being somewhat flexible! Musically it began in style with Kier playing her latest single "20 Something", a combination of laughs, truisms wrapped into one fantastic song. Switching the playing order for the second half, Rhiannon would go next with the intense "So Damn Cruel", Rhiannon's vocals giving each word its due prominence. The final versions of the chorus were either powered out with an unbridled intensity or all but whispered, they may seem to be opposite ends of the spectrum but each in its own way was incredibly effective. Georgia would use her neighbours in the Fens, as the inspiration for "Nowheretown", it has their blessing, and is a UK version of the US songwriter staple, the small town song, the people to a degree though could be interchangeable.
The final official round, started with Kier, playing her song that develops into a real anthem "Someone To You", with Georgia and Rhiannon and all of the audience becoming backing singers. It was a round for big tunes and Rhiannon would let loose her current single, "Shout Out", which she hopes will yet be adopted by the Lionesses. It's a fantastic song regardless, with Rhiannon having to bring her powers of concentration for the opening section of guitar, which she does not normally play. This solo version may not have had the bells and whistles of the single, but it definitely had all of the intensity in a thrilling version. The rounds would come to a close with Georgia, on home ground, with her sisters in the audience playing a fitting tribute to her late father in "Dear Dad".
The evening had everything, with laughter and tears but most of all excellent song writing and performances. It would come to an end with a surprise song "Heard It From The Girls", a triple co write that will hopefully be forthcoming some day as a single. With the verse vocals shared and the chorus, a combination of all three vocals forming a power choir, it was a delightful way to finish the evening.
For those in London who missed out on the Worst Kept Secret Tour, Rhiannon & Kier will both soon be visiting the Green Note in Camden.
Kier on 1st November along with Nicole Allan & Ruby Lily
Rhiannon on Nov 15th along with Stella Lain & Nicole Allan
