Hannah Georgas - 02 Academy, Newcastle, 24/1/2014

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 15 / 1 / 2014

intro

Despite her suffering major sound problems, Adrian Huggins is impressed by singer-songwriter Hannah Georgas' unusual brand of acoustic/electronic folk rock in a support slot to her fellow Canadians City and Colour at a show at the O2 Academy in Newcastle

The support act for fellow Canadian Dallas Green and his band City and Colour on their current tour of Europe, Hannah Georgas is surely set to make plenty of new fans around the continent with her and her band’s wonderfully crafted and uplifting songs. Taking to the stage at the stupidly early time of 7 p.m. despite having the only support slot, Georgas and her band were set with the task of keeping the good folk of Newcastle entertained on a very wet and cold Friday evening. Despite the time the venue was, however, pretty full as they kicked things off. Dressed aptly in a black and white shirt (I’m sure that’s just a coincidence, but I’d imagine it was noticed by more than just me), Hannah Georgas had a wonderfully understated but attention-grabbing presence which fits perfectly with her music. She showed no signs of any sort of nerves as she entertained the somewhat subdued crowd with her brand of stripped back acoustic/electronic music. The performance by Georgas and the rest of her band was absolutely flawless and tight, showcasing songs such as ‘Robotic’, ‘Waiting Game’ and ‘Enemies’, all of which surely left an impact on the revellers in the audience, many of whom would be seeing and hearing them for the first time. There was hints of Feist, Broken Social Scene and a stripped back and more accessible version of Ladytron in Georgas’ passionate yet gentle vocals. Everything was put together well with the synths and drums bringing energy to the songs, while Georgas’ gorgeous vocals lead everything without ever casting the music in the background. My big gripe about this gig was that it could have been a far more overwhelming set were it not for the sound quality in the venue. There was a ‘muddiness’ to the sound which I felt did the band a big injustice, and some of the subtleties were lost. It’s never easy for a support band/artist to open up for someone as well-known and well-loved as City and Colour, and, while Georgas and her crew certainly performed a great set, I really felt that the sound quality let them down. At times it was such that it made me feel like I was in a house where there was a really great party going on next door that I would have loved to be at. Despite this, however, Georgas and her band had some fantastic songs, and hopefully this slight dampener didn’t quash any enthusiasm from the crowd. I sincerely hope that as many people at the gig as possible were as impressed as I was with the band, and have taken the time to check out Hannah Georgas’ music online away from the murky Newcastle Academy sound as I really can’t recommend this artist enough.

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