Music / Review
Review: Faye Webster, Thekla – ‘Her melancholy jangle and Southern charm is mesmerising’
Faye Webster is that girl who’s just annoyingly, effortlessly cool. She’s mysterious too – hiding behind her fringe and singing to the wall. She’s wearing a blue suit that her friend made for her, and she only says hello after the fourth song.
Faye Webster fans are equally as cool and mysterious – she’s managed to draw out every single person in Bristol with a 70s porn stache, a group of people who sit in the crowd playing uno, and someone taking pictures on their DS.
Most of Webster’s songs sound the same (she’s found a good formula and stuck to it), so it’s even more impressive when the crowd know exactly which song is coming next with just one guitar twang.
We gasp and hoot for our favourites, and hold our breath when we hear the opening to Jonny. The song hurts – ‘Jonny, did you ever love me?/Jonny help me figure it out’.
Someone yells ‘F*CK YOU JONNY!’, and the crowd start chanting ‘We hate you Jonny, we do’. We’re all fuming, and painfully British. Having come from the Deep South, Webster is bemused, but beaming.
After this it’s completely wholesome – she waves to the crowd and we wave back, and we’re all just waving at each other and it’s disgustingly adorable. She sometimes forgets the words, but we sing so loud that it doesn’t matter.
It’s a whimsical experience – I’m holding my face in my hands and dangling my feet off of Thekla’s top deck while she plays her favourite Pokemon song. ‘We’ve been talking on tour about playing on ‘The Boat’, she laughs.
Webster’s melancholy jangle and Southern charm are mesmerising. Her band are incredible, and seeing the steel guitar played live is enchanting.
Her brother is also on bass – the evening again proving insanely wholesome. They return for an encore of fan favourite Kingston, and it sounds perfect against a gloomy November evening. Indie Autumn is officially in full swing.
Main photo: Mia Smith
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- Review: Maggie Rogers, O2 Academy – ‘Having an artist feel so joyful to be sharing their music is really special’
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