REVIEWS
Billy Nomates by Victoria Wai
BILLY NOMATES, BULL @ THE CLUNY, NEWCASTLE (07.10.21) Words: Ali Welford Without a live reputation to speak of prior to last year’s word-of-mouth breakthrough, to attend Billy Nomates’ debut tour is to witness an artist fully, finally unleashed. Tor Maries may only have 45-odd minutes of material between her fabulous eponymous full-length and last Spring’s follow-up Emergency Telephone EP, yet this virtuoso has no interest in padding things out. Indeed, once logged into her laptop (which, atop a small table, is her sole stage companion), this sold-out show is an exercise in relentless, barnstorming intensity; a fierce, frenetic pitch from a newcomer evidently determining she’s everything to prove and nothing to lose. It’s a remarkable thing to witness – a slickly rehearsed series of transitions delivered with thrilling, breakneck spontaneity; a formidable act where pulsing A-grade tunes as assertive as No and Heels are lent a whole new physicality through Maries’ impulsive, stage-busting dance moves. It’s an outstanding, one-of-a-kind performance, and one that’s all but impossible to adequately open for, but that doesn’t prevent York quintet Bull from giving it a mightily good go. An outfit who’ve improved considerably across their numerous sojourns North, this showcase of recent album Discover Effortless Living positions itself at the poppier end of the Pixies-indebted indie rock spectrum, though not at the expense of ramshackle edges or affable DIY charm. An impassioned warm-up which may well have turned a few heads.
MAX FOSH @ THE STAND, NEWCASTLE (11.10.21) Words: Cameron Wright Before even stepping on stage, Max Fosh establishes his YouTube credentials by offering £10,000 to an audience member with the best party trick. With a sign listing silly and endearing talents, the goofiness of the night has already begun. As Fosh runs onto stage, he kicks his Newcastle stand-up debut into gear. After quickly blasting through an overview of his various YouTube videos, to clue in the uninitiated, Fosh instantly begins interacting with his audience. As the night unfolds, there is a candour and comfort in Fosh’s rapport with the
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crowd, as he pauses his own act to continue his pursuit of finding THE best party trick. At times this may have felt like a man trying to fill up his time slot, as actual routines were replaced by a woman singing Thomas The Tank Engine, yet Fosh still kept the show flowing and kept the atmosphere positive. The entire set felt a little like a road trip, with the end destination planned and the bags packed, but without any idea which roads to use and with little gas in the tank. Max Fosh provided an easygoing, whimsical night that although may not have been a polished stand-up routine, still showed a man trying something new, taking a risk and challenging himself, and for that I can only applaud.
ADAM BUXTON: RAMBLES @ TYNE THEATRE & OPERA HOUSE, NEWCASTLE (13.10.21) Words: Cameron Wright Somewhat aimlessly, Adam Buxton meandered onto the stage, baseball cap awry and sporting a pair of daring shorts. After rattling through the housekeeping rules of the night, Buxton leaps into a peculiar little song addressing the aforementioned shorts, before regaining composure and finishing up the final rules and etiquettes of the night. Flitting between very colloquial discussions on the smaller details of life, obscure musical outbursts and comedy routines, to long, meandering yet personal extracts from his book, I’m not too sure what Adam Buxton: Rambles was supposed to be, and I’m not sure he knew either. The whole show felt extremely reliant on the surplus of charisma Buxton exuded from the moment he stepped on stage. The overly relaxed yet effortlessly affable and inviting energy of the comic glued together the abstract segments of the night and gave the audience a reason to tolerate the borderline slapdash approach to the night. While the show may have fallen victim to a certain “it’ll be alright on the night” mentality, Buxton turned an evening that may have otherwise felt under-rehearsed into something warm and homely. The rough around the edges performance felt almost key to the night’s success, as the book’s both hilarious and poignant reflections revolve heavily around themes of imperfection, learning and adapting.
