Nash's Sugarmill return satisfied a lively Stoke crowd

Kate Nash

Stoke of Genius:

Date: The Sugarmill, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent

Date: April 24, 2013

There was much anticipation ahead of Faux Feet's return to The Sugarmill as main support for Kate Nash.

The local four-piece seem to improve each time on stage and they showed great control over the crowd during their extremely entertaining set.

Following their average performance at the Stoke Heat at Road to Blissfields earlier this month, Sian Matthews and co responded emphatically.

The lyrics of 'please stay' were repeated convincingly with a strong build-up and effective climax.

Touring without support, Kate Nash returned yet again to the Hanley venue with great confidence to make the stage her own.

She opened with a projection of a vintage-style music video shown on the back wall and on four 50's style television sets on stage.

The teenage-girl dominated crowd gave her an overwhelming reception as she followed her band wearing what could have easily been a delightful tribute to Roald Dahl's Veruca Salt.

A chilled opening with 'Sister' from new album Girl Talk was soon cut short by the intriguing and enjoyable punk screams of Nash for a strong, impacting introduction.

Influences of the Sex Pistols and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were certainly heard in 'Death Proof' and 'All Talk', showing that the album is considerably heavier than her previous releases.

The lack of keyboard was a shame when performing 'Mariella' from UK number one album Made of Bricks.

Faux Feet

Nevertheless, Nash and her band still delivered a rockier version convincingly, much to the delight of the singing crowd.

Despite some uninteresting jokes and feminist views which seemed to lack much point and justification, Nash kept the crowd engaged with her friendly interaction and comforting stage presence.

Elementary lyrics and a catchy chorus from upcoming single 'OMYGOD!' showed a return to her pop ways.

The heights of the last personal viewing of her opening Glastonbury 2008 were not quite met, partly due to the unfortunate build-up of pointless chatter before trademark song 'Foundations'.

Nevertheless, a positive side to the London singer was shown with her punk-heavy tracks which could easily have prompted a mosh pit, in contrast to the pop set on the Pyramid Stage.

The encore was a refreshing return to her first album with the simple yet effective acoustic track 'Dickhead' followed by the happy-go-lucky 'We Get On'.

Although Nash drivelled on at times, she still delivered a strong set with some impressive highlights from her latest album, along with some old favourites.