This is the first time NXDIA has played acoustic she tells us as she introduces guitarist Jack. This would have come as a surprise had she not revealed this fact, so comfortable she seemed throughout her set of originals with a couple of covers slipped in the middle. The stripped-down acoustic format really allowed her vocals to take centre stage and shine through, the deep emotional connection she makes with her songs being laid bare for a mostly attentive crowd.
Lauren Ruth Ward lives every moment of each of her songs, whether it be the solo opening section which features a lot of unreleased material that she tells us she's working out what to do with. She asks that we don't film full songs so she can control her art. It's an important request, as is her need to stop songs twice to ask the people at the back to shut up. They're not fans, those down the front stand in reverential silence, mouthing along to the songs they know and soaking in the ones they don't, singing along out loud when Lauren asks. The ones at the back, venue guestlist we're told later, think their conversations and witty shoutouts - "play Wonderwall" might have been funny once but once only - but it's plain disrespect and this type of soul-bearing deserves more.
It doesn't spoil the evening though, irritating as it is. Over the course of an hour and a half, Lauren bears her soul through her music. At moments it looks like she's lost in her own world, at others she's sharing everything amongst us as she ventures into the safe space of her audience. She even engineers a marriage proposal in the audience mid-set (she said yes). She talks to individuals in the crowd as she tunes her guitar, calls out people she recognises from previous gigs like old friends. But when the music starts, either herself on guitar or Lisa adding a harder more abrasive edge with an electric guitar, she allows us an insight into her world.
Lauren Ruth Ward's official site can be found here and she is on Facebook and Twitter. Lauren plays Brighton Hope And Ruin on Tuesday March 14 before heading to Europe - full list here.
NXDIA is on Facebook and Twitter.
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