Nile Marr live at Jimmy’s Liverpool, 20/10/21… Review by David Lancaster.

It’s nice to be heading over to Jimmy’s Bar Liverpool on Wednesday night, a midweek gig is always a bit of a treat and I’m looking forward to seeing Nile Marr this evening. I’ve followed his career over the last 6 years or so but I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing him live as of yet.

As I enter Jimmy’s and walk downstairs, Nile is there, just hanging around the merch desk doing some pre-gig bits and bobs, and I notice as the evening progresses that he’s a very “hands-on” kind of performer, running around all over the place making sure the lighting is right and so on. I get chatting with Nile and he tells me a funny story about the last time he played here in Liverpool with his old band Man Made.  He tells me that after that show a couple of years back that him and his band never got paid, so that night after their gig they tracked down the promoter and traveled over to Birkenhead in their van, knocking on the guy’s door at 2am, then marching him to a cash point to get their missing £150!!! Upon hearing this story I wonder if Nile is the hardest man in music.

Dock City_Credit:Viviana Caldeira

Anyway, on to the music, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Jimmy’s for a gig but this place always feels cozy and there is a good sized crowd here tonight to watch local band Dock City play only their 2nd gig. The lads open up with ‘I Can’t Breath’, sounding poppy and bright and bass player Jay is standing out, not just because of his playing, but because he’s wearing a big yellow flower in his hair. The vocals are shared between Jack, CJ, and Jay on ‘Shadows’ and this song sounds a bit funky with Jay’s bass vibrating through the room, a bit grungy too. ‘Sentimental’ offers a slight change of pace with a slower groove and this number is well received by the crowd who offer cheers and whistles as this one closes. Soon we have ‘Close To The Edge’ which I’m told by guitarist Liam is going to be the band’s first single, this is a real rocker, and the vocals stand out again on this one. We get a bit of banter between the audience and the lads on stage and someone is asking them to strip off !!!, seems like they have a fan base already.’Take Me Where You Wanna Go’ again has great vocals from Jack, classy guitar work from Liam and CJ with Michael’s drumming standing out here also. I’ve not heard a band sound like this for a while and as I listen to Jack’s soulful vocals, I imagine that this band could be from across the water as they have a bit of a trans-atlantic” sound about them. We get some more crowd banter and it’s been a great set from the lads as they close with ‘City Lights’, they sound so tight here and the vocal soars across the room on this rocker. I chat to the lads after they come off and they tell me that they practice most days and it certainly shows in their performance. Dock City have a gig at The Jacaranda on the 26th of November, and I’d urge everyone to try and catch them while you can at these intimate venues as I think they’ll be destined for bigger things soon. This felt like I was watching a band play their 22nd show tonight rather than their 2nd.

Dock City_Credit:Viviana Caldeira

Finally, Nile Marr, Manchester’s indie singer-songwriter, and his band take to the stage. The atmosphere hots up now and Nile and his three-piece band get a great reception. Nile is the son of Smiths legend Johnny Marr and he launched his own career about 6 years ago fronting his old band Man Made, a three-piece group that also featured his current bassist, Callum. Tonight they are joined onstage by Ade on drums. Marr looks dapper in double-denim and he opens up with the first of a handful of new songs, ‘Lonely Hearts Killers’ begins with a raucous rumble and Nile shows us his cool swagger, the band seems super tight as they segue into ‘Raining In My Head’, a song from the Man Made era, Nile has a really nice tone to his voice and he seems to be enjoying the show as he moves into Carsick Cars’, another from the MM album, we’re flying now and this is a fantastic tune and the crowd are dancing to this rocker. We get a couple more new songs and Nile thanks us for listening to them before the band takes us into ‘Goes Down Slow’ and ‘Part Time Girl’, two songs from Marr’s 2020 album ‘Are You Happy Now’. ‘Goes Down Slow’ has a great dancey beat and it sounds a bit trippy and hypnotic in parts. ‘Part Time Girl’ is my personal favourite and Nile tells me after the show that he wrote the song about a boy who occassionally wears girl’s clothing. Soon we get ‘Skin’ another new song and Marr shows us some nice use of his whammy bar while simultaneously posing for some girls down the front who are taking photos. Next up, after some cool feedback is ‘Hush’ another song from Nile’s last album and he tells me later that this is one that he really enjoys playing live.  We have some tuning issues here but it’s handled really well and we enjoy some onstage banter between NM and his guitar tech.  ‘Hush’ is a real tune a big favourite with the punters  tonight, this song has a great chorus. Next is “How We Drift”, Nile tells me that this will be his next single so keep your eyes and ears open for that release early next year. It’s an up-beat number and has some really nice guitar in it. The show is almost over far too soon it seems and we get another new song ‘Eyes Like Deer’, this might be the most captivating song tonight, Nile seems to move in slow motion at times, Ade’s drumming stands out here and we get some very “Marr-ish” guitar sounds, there must be something in his genes I think.  It’s a great song and has a kind of eastern feel to it. Nile and the boys close with “TV Broke My Brain”, another Man Made song and we have a few more tuning issues and another false start, but it is all a bit comedic, and Marr laughs out loud saying its a great shame as his songs have such good intros, anyway we’re off again and indeed it is a boss intro, Aden smashes the drums and Cal and Nile combine to get a great punchy sound here.

Nile Marr_Credit:Viviana Caldeira

It’s a great end to the set and fantastic end to a great night of music. Nile Marr is a real pro and I enjoyed watching him up close tonight, he comes across as a nice lad, very accomodating to his fans. I get a feeling that we’ll see him playing festivals and arenas very soon, he certainly has the songs and he has the skill set for it. If you haven’t seen Nile Marr yet, I’d certainly recommend that you do and I will look forward to seeing him again, hopefully very soon.

Nile Marr_Credit:Viviana Caldeira

David Lancaster, 20/10/2021