It’s a brave artist who dispatches her best-known tune only two songs into their set and what’s more, plays it solo. But Canadian songstress and Broken Social Scene collaborator Lesley Feist carried off her stripped-down rendition of Mushaboom with aplomb, making up for the instrumental deficiency with sheer charisma. Although somewhat dwarfed by the Shepherd’s Bush stage (she’s realllllly little), within that tiny frame lies enough charm to win over the most hardened of hearts; more importantly she has the songs to back it up, despite their propensity to appear in every ad campaign on God’s earth.
Her voice may not be as rich or unique as some of her peers, and her tendency to fumble shifts between registers robs it of true excellence, but there’s a husky, soulful quality there that recalls less manic-depressive Chan Marshall. What’s more striking is her vivaciousness in both vocals and manner- she’s a natural performer who gives her all on stage, but takes care to not take herself too seriously. Not afraid to indulge in banter, including the brilliant exchange:
FEIST: This is the part of the show where I get to know the audience.
AUDIENCE MEMBER (shouts): We’re all single!
she even finds room to fit an wonderfully elaborate marriage proposal into the set. (Story goes, Feist asks whether there were any “mean piano players” in the audience, making it out as if was something she did at every show; Chinese guy comes on stage, blows everyone away with a virtuoso piano display and promptly pops the question to his girlfriend. Everyone cheers, massive round of applause – the lady in question, of course, said yes.)
None of this would have mattered if the performance itself hadn’t been up to scratch, but true to form, she produced an fantastic set full of exuberance and vitality. Although her slower tracks occasionally lacked spark the general quality was superb, Feist infusing her songs with a genuine passion sometimes absent in her recorded stuff. This was only enhanced by her talented backing band who deftly provided her songs with the evocative arrangements they deserved but were professional enough to stay out of the limelight. If there was one point of criticism however, it would have been the questionable decision to wrap proceedings up with ‘Let It Die’. As fine a song as that is, it was a peculiarly subdued note to end on given how upbeat the rest of the set was; the stunning soulful exuberance of 'Sealion' or the sublime sing-a-long '1-2-3-4' would have been far more fitting. But that couldn’t spoil what was an otherwise marvellous night, showcasing one of the music scene’s most magnetic singers this side of the Wainwrights. Ubiquitous she might be but on the strength of this, who’s complaining?
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