Indigo Sessions #4

I’ve been full of praise for the wonderful organisers of the Indigo Sessions on plenty of previous occasions for their line-ups at Hoxton’s Underbelly, however, never have they managed to put together a night of music that has blown me away quite as much as this. Whilst there wasn’t a particularly weak link on the bill, the headliner of this latest outing gave one of the most inspirational performances I’ve ever seen. But I’ll get to him shortly.

Having been roped in as a last-minute replacement due to illness, Nick Liam showed that he is someone that you can safely call upon in a sticky situation. Though being firmly rooted behind his keyboard limited the amount he could do on stage, Nick showed why he was the right super-sub for the occasion. His competence behind the keys, matched with his charming voice, made sure that the event opened with plenty of potential.

https://soundcloud.com/nickliam/cocoon-demo

Next up were the 80s-esque sounds of Aaron – a band, not just one bloke – whose sound ran off of powerful drums, delicious guitar riffs, twin keyboards that blew your socks off and a lead singer whose talented voice could only be matched by her skilled performance. The band showed a real unity as they all looked, and of course sounded, as though they were passionate about the music they were making – both keyboard players rocked back and forth throughout as the groove ran through them. On the whole the band put together a cracking performance and I’ll be making sure to see them live again sometime soon.

Then it was onto the man (+ band) who most people had probably turned out to see – former S Club juniors member Calvin Goldspink. If you were going in expecting to see pop music you would have been sadly mistaken as Calvin’s brand of Nickelback-esque soft-rock, or whatever the kids are calling it these days, went down a treat. There was no mistaking that he is still a seasoned performer as he relished in his duties as frontman, showing that he’s also pretty handy on an acoustic guitar. He was ably supported by a band of talented musicians as they put together a sound that you could see American audiences in particular really getting their teeth into. Expect an interview on these here pages soon…

Now, I’ve been full of praise for everyone else on the bill (not that it was a challenge) BUT they were all simply eclipsed by one of the finest live performances I’ve ever seen. As David Butler, aka He Is A Pegasus, took to the stage on his own no-one could have predicted what sheer musical delights we were soon to be in for. As he stepped up to the microphone for his opening song, which would be performed completely a capella, the power and beauty of his voice couldn’t have been predicted by anyone. Within instants he had the whole crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, going on to perform a Jeff Buckley style performance with both his voice and guitar that the great man himself would surely have admired. Ending the night with a cover of ‘Alexandra Burke’s’ Hallelujah was a real crowd pleaser and everyone that had stayed for the whole night of Indigo Sessions goodness will surely remember this outing for quite some time.

https://soundcloud.com/heisapegasus/mighty-long-climb-live-at-the-underbelly

Ciaran Steward