VV Brown (The Cockpit, Leeds)

Last Friday I had my third and final jaunt to the Cockpit this year, to see VV Brown. Another artist who my partner likes rather than me, I'd given her album a couple of listens before the gig and enjoyed it. She sounds a little bit sixties, but without being all Duffy and obvious about it. VV Brown does something different with the sound, producing an album that sounds familiar yet very now.

I can't find a proper set list online, but I know she performed the following, just not necessarily in this order:

1. Quick Fix
2. Game Over
3. Leave!
4. Bottles
5. Crying Blood (acoustic version)
6. Crying Blood (reggae version)
7. Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Wizard of Oz cover)
8. Viva La Vida (Coldplay cover)
9. Back In Time
10. I Love You
11. Caroline (new song)
12. L.O.V.E
13. Everybody
14. Travelling Like The Light
15. Shark In The Water
Encore: 16. Sex On Fire (Kings Of Leon cover)

So basically she did the whole album, Travelling Like The Light, except one track, plus a new track and 3 covers. A longer set than either Alphabeat or Frankmusik, despite costing half as much and being in a smaller room at The Cockpit. 

As it was a smaller room, the gig felt more intimate somehow, and the atmosphere in the crowd was different - it was an older, more ethnically diverse audience than before. I hadn't realised how young and white the previous audiences were. Not that it matters at all, it was just something that I made note of. This isn't to say that an older crowd didn't know how to have a good time at this gig!

VV Brown came on stage while I was at the bar - when she made her appearance I didn't recognise her behind the massive mask she was wearing. I thought Grace Jones was putting in a cameo! This level of quirkiness continued in various guises, and VV was all the more appealing for it. Inbetween songs she had excellent banter with her fans, and showed she has a sense of humour. Most importantly, she had the voice to back up the personality. As beautiful on the acoustic tracks as she was on the up tempo numbers (and there were more of these than the former), I enjoyed the night immensely. 

The only quibble I had was with the choice of covers - I like Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and VV put her own spin on it, but Coldplay leaves me cold, and Kings of Leon... Well, they're not my cup of tea. I wouldn't have minded the Kings song so much if she hadn't done it as an encore. I would've been happier for her to finish on the gorgeous Shark in the Water than to come back to sing someone else's song. When Frankmusik did the same with It's a Sin it worked because he made the song into something else, something quintessentially 'Frankmusik', but the Kings of Leon track was a bit too karaoke and crowd-pleasing. 

The new single, Caroline, was awesome, and I hold out great hopes for VV Brown's second album, due next year, along with Alphabeat's and Frankmusik's! Here's to more gigs in the future.