Anna Calvi – Bush Hall, London 27/04/11

Having been swept up in the annual fervour that is the 2011 ‘tip’ predictions, she has been boasted as the long-lost love-child of Nick Cave and PJ Harvey, the brand new Patti Smith, or according to the superfluous language of the BBC, “a pale beauty and restless soul singing songs haunted by the ghosts of long dead rockabilly singers and broken hearted chanteuses”. Yes, quite.

A few references certainly made me sit up and listen; most notably that her eponymous debut was produced by long-time PJ Harvey collaborator Robert Ellis. With Harvey’s Dry being my all-time favourite album, I swallowed my sickening conformity of adhering to the Sound Of 2011 list and bought the record. Upon first listen, I was absolutely hooked – one of the best albums of the year so far; reverb-drenched telecasters, dull timpani and seductive vocals giving me the urge to watch Pulp Fiction and eat rare steak.

So needless to say I was quite looking forward to seeing her live – though I may have preferred the setting of a dingy, American outback basement rather than the grandeur of Shepherd’s Bush Hall. After speed walking my way there due to forgetting my Oyster Card (cue bad mood), I dashed into the venue just as Ms Calvi struck her first glass-shattering chord of the night. ‘Rider To The Sea’ is the first track on the album, and pretty much sums up the atmosphere of what is to come. The 3-minute instrumental sounded both impressive and terrifying live, and despite the dodgy sound (everything was far too quiet for my liking) it diminished the room into a silent awe.

Slipping seductively into ‘No More Words’ I was quite taken aback. But not in a good way. This being my favourite track of Calvi’s, the apparent lack of (for want of a better word) balls was really off-putting. I darted from the back of the room to the centre in an attempt to get the satisfying tremble beneath my shoes or feel the bass rattle up my ribs…but to no avail. It was as though ‘Rider To The Sea’ had quickly built the audience up to an orgasmic peak, that ‘No More Words’ was the disappointing climax. Genuinely disappointed, the frustrated musician in me blamed the sound-guy.

However, the night was only young. 1 minute into ‘Blackout’ and the atmosphere shifted into a more ‘satisfied’ territory. Calvi loosened up, the volume increased and we were treated to the terrifying passion that she so insouciantly exhumes. ’I’ll Be Your Man’ again evoking a terrified awe as she reminds why she was such a good choice for Grinderman’s tour support – this song lending apparent influence from Nick Cave’s ‘Red Right Hand’. Calvi’s between-song banter being minimal to say the least, you can’t help but notice the crowd’s disbelief at the sweetly breathed ‘thankyous’ that juxtaposed the low, evocative wails she sang only a minute before; throw in a cover of Elvis Presley’s ‘Surrender’ and you have a pretty smitten audience.

Now we come to the part of the night when the audience dickheads make themselves known. As luck would have it, they happened to be stood directly in front of me; oh joy. A drunken forty-something couple seemingly oblivious to the hushed breathy tension that was currently being built in ‘Love Won’t Be Leaving’, obviously couldn’t resist their fumbles and laughter as their petulant raucous grew louder than Calvi’s whispers. Undoubtedly the most hated people in the room at that one moment, all eyes were on them – including Calvi’s pissed off gaze. Despite this, she responded in the best way possible – with an epic 3-minute guitar solo that literally blew us away. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one for the whole onstage-guitar-masturbation type thing, but fuck did she simultaneously astonish suppress the dickheads with a ‘holier-than-thou’ shred. Defiantly leaving the stage, she later returned with her Harvey-esque ‘Devil’ and a genius cover of Edith Piaf’s ‘Jezebel’.

So despite initial worry, Calvi delivered; confidently treading all over her 2011-list peers with two things they may not have – sheer talent and longevity.