Kate Tempest last gig @ The Roundhouse, London
Sunday 11/12/2016
Over the past five years or so, Kate Tempest has been steadily carving her own unique style that in my opinion is completely unheard of at the moment, I haven’t come across anyone trying to do what she is doing and seeing her live was so inspiring and magical.
Going out on a limb after starting as a rapper, Kate’s style of spoken word and music is not only epic in sound, but even more so to bear witness to or be a part of. Apart from Kate announcing to us at the beginning how important this gig was to her (as she remembered queuing for hours to SEE bands here years before, and now was headlining herself). Yet again, anther emphasis that this female is truly speaking from the heart with nothing but positivity to spur her on!??! Kate made a point of us all recognizing together there and then a sense of community - a sense of like-minded people coming together to create something meaningful and powerful. It was intoxicating.
The music, words, lighting were all as important as each other; each reflected the other and complimented it in turn. The use of pauses and lighting was compelling and overwhelming and you felt the story unfolding around you, encapturing you. Her story telling is so evocative and reflective of our times, and the music compliments that without overtaking it. There was a real sense of balance between it all; all the elements were as important as each other.
The overall message was one of empowerment, positivity and awakening: a poignant reflection on war and our need to take responsibility and realize that its up to us to do what needs to be done in order to “Wake Up!”
I was honoured to have back stage passes and a ticket to her after show where I got the chance to talk to Kate and get a signed poetry book of hers which I will treasure. Kate’s style is emotional or evocative poetry and rap, reflecting on modern culture, politics and the world we live in today. 7 different characters are followed through the story, with a re-occurring theme over the time 04.18am. When I spoke to Kate after, I did ask her about the time reference and she said it was an important theme yes but not only for her, but she wanted us to also thing what did that time mean to us? For me, 04.18am is the time you look around and think its neither morning nor night, it’s the middle where anything can happen.
Lucinda Younger
Presenter/Commentator on Popular culture
Lucie.younger@gmail.com