I just got back from seeing Stevie Jackson from the band Belle and Sebastian play at the Rough Trade West music store on Talbot Road. He put on this free gig while he is doing his tour in the UK and some other European countries. I had only recently discovered Stevie Jackson this week, and was very excited to see him in person. My two flatmates and I walked more than an hour to the music store in order to save transportation money (I’ve been using my Oyster card way too much). We got there five minutes before he was supposed to start, and people slowly started coming in. The shop was fairly small and covered with CD’s and albums, but it fit about twenty people. He came to the mic and informed us that he had laryngitis, so he wouldn’t be able to perform for long and do the songs that required his extra deep voice. Even though he was sick, he was very lively and had a quirky personality that radiated through his singing and his extra commentary in between his songs. This made me ignore his sickness and enjoy his performance completely. 
He played five songs total, three of which are from his new album (I Can’t Get No) Stevie Jackson. He started with ‘Press Send,’ and next was ‘Can’t Get Enough.’ His voice cracked a few times during this song due to his illness, but he apologized and I don’t think the audience minded too much. He has such a deep, soothing voice, and his songs have great lyrics, so it would take a lot for me not to enjoy his songs. After this, he sang ‘Birds Eye View,’ followed by my favorite ‘Where Do All the Good Girls Go?’ This is a song about Paris, and he explained that he wrote it because he is obsessed with Paris and all its beauty. I can definitely relate to this since Paris has been my favorite city in Europe (other than London of course). He ended with his new song that is a collaboration with The Wellgrren called, ‘Daddy was a mod in the RAF. He said this is an appropriate song for London and relates to him personally. His performance lasted about twenty five minutes, with funny jokes in between songs about his semi-croaky voice.
After his performance, I went and asked him for a picture. He was very nice and seemed like a very down to Earth person, and said “O wait, let me pose for you,” as he grabbed the microphone. I also got a picture of his two back up singers, who harmonized really well throughout all his songs. I’m very glad I got to see him for free, while other people are paying to see his concerts. Outside of the UK, he has done concerts in the United States and Canada. However, I really like seeing small gigs like this one where I stood about ten feet away from him. I always appreciate the informality of playing in a music store because I feel that the artist is more comfortable. Even though he did mess up quite a few times, he just joked it off and kept on going after he coughed it out. He worked with the small area he was given, and made the back of the store his stage. With only his voice, a guitar, and two back-up singers, his performance was captivating. I even forgot to take pictures while he was actually singing, and scrambled to take them at the end! While being in a formal venue with a real stage always sets the atmosphere for a concert, these small gigs display that the world is our stage for any performance.
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