“USA! … USA!” chants Nikki Lane on stage at the House of Blues in Anaheim on Tuesday, November 22.
Patriotic country sweetheart Lane, graces the stage showing her support for her tour-mates, London natives Noah & the Whale, by wearing a dress with the Union Jack emblazoned on the front.
As a teenager, Lane dropped out of high school and headed west for Los Angeles in pursuit of something grander than her small hometown of Greenville, South Carolina.
Celebrating the September 27th release of her first full-length album, Walk of Shame, Lane shared a lot of her new country-inspired songs that speak of her wanderings.
In “Gone, Gone, Gone” she shared her experience of heading west to seek meaning and purpose and she “won’t be back for far too long.”
The country belle also sings about the downs of love. “This one’s for the assholes,” said Lane before singing the opening track to her record, “Lies.”
“Funny how you think you know a man, but in time you’ll understand,” sings Lane.
Lane ambition has led her to sign with Los Angeles based label IAMSOUND Records. She currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. She is also a stylist and a model, while running her own vintage accessories shop called High Class Hillbilly.
Her sweet country accent and vibrant personality inspires a lust for wandering and a longing for the South.
As Lane left the stage, the rowdy crowd at the House of Blues was anxious in anticipation for the quirky antics of Noah & the Whale.
Amidst the infectious hand clapping, whistling, and Charlie Fink’s carefree humorous lyrics there’s nothing not to love about these five
British lads.
The band has compiled a very eclectic cult following since their debut in 2006 with the release of their first album Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down.
Since their first album the band has lost a couple members (Laura Marling being one of them, who left to start a solo career), and they have pursued a completely different sound. Their latest album Last Night on Earth released in March was entirely recorded in a converted synagogue in Venice Beach. The record’s main thread, birthed by Fink, is the “limitless possibilities of the night life.”
They began their set with “Give A Little Love” from Peaceful, appeasing the crowd with a beloved favorite.
“Our shows are primarily split up into two sets,” said Fink to the crowd. “The romantic section and the good time section.”
The romantic section began with “The Line,” from their latest album. A melancholy tale of an embittered relationship.
The good time section kicked off with another single from their new album, “Tonight’s the Kind of Night,” a fun dance-poppy number.
Since their debut, Noah & the Whale have cast off most of their cutesy eccentric visions and have matured musically and lyrically.
Although Noah & the Whale progressively separate themselves from their earlier slappy lyrics, the crowd enjoyed the former sunny simplicity of their first album.
As they closed with “Five Years Time,” the audience was echoing Fink until the end, singing, “Fun, Fun, Fun” and “Sun, Sun, Sun.”
Written by Christina Helen and photographed by Kelsey Heng
