Review of Nest Vs. - Aaaaah thanks x
In a city bursting at the seams with makeshift open mic nights, its fair to ask, what could make a new night stand out from the crowd? Located at The Electric House in Willesden Green, a new event named The Nest Vs. sets out to provide a platform for local people who are eager to show their talents through music and spoken word.
The venue itself was compact enough to allow an intimate experience for audience members, yet large enough for it not to seem too intimidating for the performers. The event took place for the first time on 26th February, and the room filled up nicely, providing a cordial atmosphere for the duration of the evening.
The Nest Vs. has been organised by student Olly Douglas. This is the first open mic night he has organised, after he has experienced the other side of the microphone. With his own passion for spoken word and poetry, he has scraped together the remainder of his student loan payment to launch the event in an effort to help locals show off their own talents.
The night kicked off with a collection of acts that had been organised by Olly himself. Although poetry seemed to be the main focus of the evening, performers provided a variety of verses to help keep the audience members thoroughly entertained and engaged. After these performances, the night was left open to people who wanted to get up on stage and share their talents with the on looking crowd.
Early Doors, a London based poetry group, were eager to show off their incredible talent during the event. Formally known as the Roundhouse Poetry Collective, six gifted poets have come together to share their unforeseen talents across the city. Members that took to the stage provided audience members with an inspiring feast of lyrical prowess. The verses covered a variety of different subjects, such as love and fear. The room filled with a deafening silence whilst the acts delivered each set of beautiful literature. Some sonnets explored the dark thoughts and personal experiences of writers, which left listeners devouring into their own outtake on life. Poets also provided a hilarious set of light-hearted limericks that had the crowd grinning from ear to ear.
Taking a brief step away from the art of poetry, our ears were given a special treat as two extremely talented musicians took to the mic. Ollie Thomson and Vic Jamieson, two students from The Institute of Contemporary Music, left everyone’s ears tingling after their sweet renditions of well-known chart toppers. The boys kicked things off with Justin Timberlake’s popular track Cry Me A River. As Ollie hit every note with his voice perfectly, he could have easily been mistaken for the real J.T. The real surprise of the evening when the duo performed Kevin Lyttle’s Turn Me On, a classic hit from the early 2000’s. It came as a good choice, as the crowd joined in whilst clapping along enthusiastically and belting out the old school tune.
If all goes to plan, the night has the possibility of gaining quite a reputation, with the promise of astonishing talent, and open slots for anyone who is keen to step to the stage and share their vocal talent.
Follow @NestVs on Twitter for information on their upcoming events.