Mr Hudson, Camden Roundhouse, July 7th
Mr Hudson played the Camden Roundhouse on July 7th
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Greg Ash and Lewis Bazley on two sun-drenched days of music in the capital. |  |
Thursday, 09, Jul 2009 10:45
If you can't even fill the venue when the tickets are free, you know you are somewhat punching above your weight. That was exactly the situation facing Mr Hudson hours before he was due to play his headline slot at this year's iTunes festival.
The solution? Announcing that your new best mate Kanye West will be putting in a guest appearance ought to do the trick.
Opening the bill on the night were plucky Mancunians Kid British, who delivered a slick and convincing set. To call them genre-defying would be too pretentious, so let's just say they defy expectations. Their smooth ska stylings blended with broken-home rap to great effect on their Madness cover Our House (Is Dadless), while the tight vocal harmonies on She Will Leave went down a storm.
The Camden Roundhouse was the perfect venue for Mr Hudson to take his ambitious plans to the next level, and the capacity crowd that eventually filed in didn't regret taking the time to witness one of Britain's hottest new talents step up to the next level. Ben Hudson took to the stage clad in a tight leather jacket for the steel-drum tinged opener One Specific Thing, taken from his 2007 debut album A Tale Of Two Cities, but his punk attire didn't last long. "It must feel good not to have to pay to get in, you're all winners," he announced early on, but the soulful vibes of recent single There Will Be Tears ensured the crowd got much more than their money's worth. The vibrant bounce of Too Late, Too Late and the passionate paean Upon The Heath meant there was also plenty on offer for fans of his debut record.
A guest appearance from Kid Cudi elicited a strong reaction from the crowd, but that was nothing compared to the thunderous screams which greeted the arrival of Kanye West during the encore. Heartless and Paranoid threatened to raise the roof, before the duo closed the night on Hudson's new single Supernova. It would be easy to criticise Mr Hudson for milking every last drop out of the chorus, which must have been repeated at least 12 times by the end, but this was his moment and he was taking it with both hands. If Kanye is to be believed, this blonde-haired soul singer will soon be the biggest name in British music.
Chris Jefferies