"From 'Misfit' to 'Smokey': Kezia Gill's London Show Delivered Every Note and More"
It's a packed room in London, pretty much sold out with no space at all. I'm standing front and centre, interestingly with a few of my gig regular friends who i knew were coming. I found out that they've gone in completely blind, not even having listened to a single track of Kezia or seen anything live. They've gone all-in, brought all the CDs, and are ready. It's about time for the show to start. The lights go down, and Elvis's song "Dreams" is playing loudly. Around 3-4 minutes later, the band appears on stage.
The opening track, "Misfit," is the title track of the album and a perfect song to open. The energy is so high at the moment; she certainly knows how to write an attention-grabbing song. I am likening it to the v2 of "House of Cards." If you've never seen her before, it's especially grabbing for my gig friends who have gone in completely blind.
Moving straight on, “whisky over ice” the crowd, and singing along is loud from where I am.
It's time for her to pick up the guitar. brief mention, I can see an error; the lead is on the floor and literally taped into this outfit. Luke to the rescue, the first song on the guitar, and an old classic “Country Song”. The energy is off the charts at the moment, and the stage presence, wow.
Next, she mentions how she wanted to play some of the songs from the “Kezia” days, the debut album. Who's been there from the start? I have its been a epic journey. This song is about Loyd and their relationship at the start. “ Coffee How You Like It” It was really good to hear this one live. I've not heard it with a band for ages, and the last time was with the good old boys, her past band.
Moving to "House of the Hill," a few jokes about this song being about their home, and they can't do anything without each other knowing about it. That song and the next one about what she's calling the "Jack Daniel’s" night when she was touring with the Shires and feeling lonely and small. But she reflects on how her dad can see that she's made it now. Four songs were written that night, making the album. Putting ¾ of the bottle away that night.
Next, "Like I Did Before," a co-write with the talented Katy Rea. It's a song about losing someone.
"Price of Loving You" and "Local Man's Star" were played in quick succession. After that, Kezia takes a brief pause, thinking of her dad, saying to her, "If you have played a show in London; you have made it." She raises a glass, and the crowd loudly cheers she says dad i’ve made it a pack off tissues where thrown on stage and Kezia makes a joke about them not being cheap as clean x.
The band then disappears for a little while. Kezia throws her dice. She made one for each show as an exclusive . "Dear Me," "Wings," "I'm Here," "The Road," "Dead Ends and Detours," "The Mess I Made," and "Dear Me" were all played. In this interlude medley, the crowd is loud, singing along. They're all classic songs.
The band then comes back on for "House of Cards." Kezia asks the people what song they would like to hear on social media posts for this tour, and there were 400 responses for this song alone. It's a classic and used to be her signature opening song to grab attention from new folks at gigs using cards.
It's time for "No Idea," another song from the "Jack Daniel’s" night.
Then, it's on to the “thirties”. Her birthday was last week, and she had a night off, catching up on "Strictly" and "Bake Off." There's a heckle from a crowd member saying, "That’s not very rock and roll,"
The guitar is off, and there's a really rocky number, "Smokey." What a live track!
Onto "Live It Up," a song written during the pandemic about how we couldn't be together, but it wasn't for that, we wouldn't have "FNC," the Friday Night Crew.
"Sweet Spot" comes next, followed by "Whisky-Drinking Woman." Kezia says quite cleverly, "I am here to single-handedly stop the walking off stage encore, and this is the last song. You wouldn’t be working in an office and leave at 5 with everyone chanting 'One more email, let's take it home, boys!'" The gig regulars who have gone in completely blind were complemented on how powerful her vocals were and her stage presence. They will be back.
Summarizing the show, the crowd and the energy were exceptional. I have to give compliments to whoever put that setlist together; it's outstanding. The structure of it was excellent. There were literally no breaks or long pauses in the 1 hour and 30 minutes; it just flowed so well. The emotional section in the middle worked well before bringing everyone back up to end. The band, as expected, was tight; you could see they were all having fun, smiling at each other during solos and certain moments. The times when Cristiano was on the pedal steel, he was literally staring and smiling at Kezia, and her stage presence was electric. She knows how to put on a live show. She's been honing her craft for years, and it definitely shows. I don’t think I’ve seen such a polished set from an artist in ages; it even tops last year's Kezia tour, and that setlist was incredible.
Set list 1. Misfit, 2. Whiskey Over Ice, 3. Country Song, 4. Coffee How You Like It, 5. House on the Hill, 6. Tonight, 7. Like I Did Before, 8. Price of Loving You / Local Man's Star, 9. Dear Me / Wings / I'm Here / The Road / Dead Ends and Detours / The Mess I Made / Dear Me, 10. House of Cards, 11. No Idea, 12. Thirties, 13. Smokey, 14. Live It Up, 15. Sweet Spot, 16. Whiskey Drinkin' Woman date London 16th October 2023
I also attended the Birmingham show, which was spot on yet again. I wasn’t too far from Kezia's manager, Donna, and this time she mentioned that it was the first time she had been able to watch the full show. She was singing loudly and fan-girling. It got a bit emotional for her during the section with "Like I Did Before" and "Price of Loving You." It shows how well her manager and Kezia are connected.
She's done an incredible job getting Kezia to that next level and progressing every year to bigger and bigger venues, gaining more fans, and them now checking out the older stuff and wanting to hear it. What's next? Who knows, but bigger venues are a must. I know someone who has done the whole tour. They all sold really well. She's headlining the Friday night at The British Country Music Festival 2023. That's a big show, and what a stage to play on. She’s breaking boundaries for independent UK artists, and she and her management agency are knocking on doors while still staying true to their roots.
Words & Images all credit DC Brown Live
