Eager to please and rearing to go, Alex Adams enthrals the disappointingly small crowd for his talent at the Bull and Gate, Kentish Town.
Running behind schedule, the doors to the venue aren’t even open when I get to the Bull and Gate. As I eventually learn there’s another entrance through the toilets of the adjoining pub (bit weird, I know) I make my way inside and grab a pint before the show starts.
First up of the two support acts are Birdhowz… ds, a self-described three piece even though there’s five and buy the end of their set, seven people on the confined stage. The collective make urban pop with varying themes from partying ‘Bass Line’, sticking together ‘Birdz Of A Feather’ too becoming a teenage mum ‘Stop And Think’.
Up next is The Scarletz, best described as Warpaint fronted by four of the Saturdays. To me they are a bit boring, but strangely pull the biggest crowd of the night. ‘End Of The Night’ is Pass Out with different lyrics and the girls vocals make a mess of the drum and bass ending.
Alex Adams confidently strides onto the stage around 9:30, opening with ‘Control’, his tone full vocals fill the room fast. Live there is a more classic rock ‘n’ roll feel towards Alex Adams, the guitar solo for ‘Bad Blood’ sounds great and with Alex’s stage presents oozes classy cool, helping him to own the stage from the word go.
Calling the audience closer as ‘Scared To Run’ burst into life. This song is ruled by the simple yet super affective drums as the bass punches through the silence, as the reverbed guitar provides the classy finish. Alex’s banter with the crowd is brief but comical asking “Anyone on twitter?”, deafly silence is the reply “Come on, even my nans on twitter!” he cheekily quips.
“Whose got their dancing shoes on?” Introduces ‘Lola’ which tells the tale of Alex wanting Lola to be “be my girl”. The crowd is considerably smaller than for some of the previous acts but they are missing at treat as Alex finishes on a scintillating cover of “I Need Air”. Light reverbed guitar and Alex’s dulcet tones start this one, creating a dark and moody atmosphere in the room, a slow and eerie build drops into big drums, rumbling bass and punchy, sharp guitars. The band and Alex really cut loose for this final track, thrashing around in the tiny space they have.
Alex Adams is a up and coming star with class and style in abundance. Make sure to check him out before his intimate live shows become big arena affairs.