Glitz Glamour and Grunge: James Bay... Hold Back the River Tour

So James Bay seems to have came from nowhere but boy has he made an impact over the last few months. He's getting a lot of airplay on Radio 1 and Xfm and now he's been nominated for the Brits critics choice award im sure he's going to be getting even more media attention. I only came across him a few months ago but instantly fell in love with his voice and the rawness and emotion he puts across in his vocals. He's also very easy on the eye which is always a bonus. As soon as I saw he was doing a tour I knew we had to go and we managed to snap up tickets for his birmingham date before it sold out.

Me and Alice were both working that day so I headed over to meet her from work then we got the train to Birmingham. We were both starving so headed to slug and lettuce for some pre gig fuel as it was 50% off food. I was extremely disappointed that the only meal I wanted wasn't available in the promotion (how annoying) and they didn't do 2 for 1 cocktails on a monday like our local slug did. So after the slight disappointment I opted for calamari to start and steak and sweet potato fries (gotta be greedy it's half price). It was gorgeous so I wasn't so upset about the original meal and cocktail fiasco. We quickly headed over to pitcher and piano to claim our free drink of the month (we love a freebie) it was some kind of whisky sour and was soo strong and not that fab, but waste not want not!

As usual we were cutting it fine but had decided we'd walk as it wasn't that far, after a wildgoose chase from rubbish directions from our phone we arrived at the 02 academy. We were just in time, it was in the acdemy 2 which was an awful shape and the toilets were a nightmare to get to so we kind of got stuck next to the bar near the stage. We did have a fairly good view apart from a huge speaker covering James's head. He had a small band and the songs all sounded perfect, the band went off for a few songs and he played solo acoustically.

He told us the story behind 'scars' and how he'd struggled to continue writing it after his girlfriend had to go away but two years later she came back and he completed the song. He really spoke from the heart and the audience were nearly in tears. The people working on the bar were talking so loud so we decided to make a move and to try and get a better view. It was a struggle to try and get out and we ended up near the back but could actually see better. He doesn't have a debut album out yet but the set was still nearly an hour long and the crowd sang along to every song. It's a slightly different gig to what I usually go to as its a lot calmer but I really enjoy this kind of gig as you can really appreciate his talent and his vocals were just perfect. I have no doubt that there are big things to come from this guy he truly is amazing, so keep your eyes peeled and if you haven't heard of him go check out his eps. He's also just announced a uk tour for next spring so I'd definitely recommend getting tickets before they're gone!

I came straight from work so just made a quick change of top for the gig. So i wore my mono print trousers and my white Bardot top with my Bethans. A perfect gig outfit, comfy and casual.