A borderline Breaking Boundaries show in Glasgow this evening, with Sofia Isella being listed as a rock act in some place, but “not the kind of rock that I know” according to one of our crew. So ideal fodder for us to spread our wings and find out why tickets for tonight’s gig were going like hot cakes.
Seb Lowe opened and he had plenty of confidence, with the attitude and stance of a rock star armed with an acoustic guitar. He’s young, justifiably angry and absolutely rattled off the lyrics to an audience who were 100% behind both his music and his ethos. Violin came courtesy of Kate Couriel in this stripped-down set (Seb also tours with a full band), with the bonus that we could actually hear her play (and sing). Always a worry before a set starts at the Academy.
I’ve no idea of songs name, unfortunately, but I really really liked what I heard. One song ended with a synchronised foot stomp with the audience. Not just a sound but a sensation I don’t recall ever hearing at a venue before. Definitely an act I’ll be checking out again.
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Sofia Isella is very much a performing artist, she’s as much a part of the show as the songs themselves. A solo performer, everything is to backing tracks, though she runs to the back and grabs the occasional guitar or banjo for a quick flurry within a song. Or a violin which she played alongside the one other musician on stage for a song – her violin teacher!
The music is quite avant-garde, and many songs barely hit two minutes in length yet she manages a full 90 minute set. Her vocals are sometimes lost under the bass (her voice is often quite low), or behind the screams and whoops of the small group of rather wasted middle aged women right in front of me. Sorry, but when an artist is talking (especially about Roe v Wade being repealed and the effect this is having on young women), “WHOOP!” is not the correct response, and neither is talking loudly to your friend over the top of the artist so I have no idea what else was said. Sorry, minor rant, but I’ve heard and read a lot of complaints recently about people talking through gigs and a lot of those complaints are levelled at younger fans. I’d like to point out that the younger contingent tonight were great, it was folk my age who were the ignorant arseholes.
Isella is incredibly, admirably, amazingly confident on stage especially in front of an audience this size – but it’s hugely apparent that they adore her. She sways, and bends and bounces… She embodies the phrase “dance like nobody is watching”. She is completely wrapped up in her performance, and brings the audience along for the ride.
At various points she has three audience members on the stage acting as a human microphone stand, is crowd-surfed around the dancefloor while singing one of the closing numbers, and then bursts out of a side door for the encore, begins the final number stood on the bar, and finishes the set in the middle of the audience. I mean (and I mean this with huge positivity), WT actual F? More experienced and established acts don’t put on a show so varied, or bury themselves (literally) in the crowd the way I witnessed tonight.
While Seb Lowe’s music appealed to me more, Sofia Isella’s ninety minute set flew past and the night as a whole was very enjoyable indeed. And this is why I like to check out artists outside of our usual purview. How do you find new music to enjoy without taking a gamble now and again?
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Photos by Ellissa Avart
