As I stood amongst the growing crowd in the opulent and massively-sized Hammersmith Apollo watching Babe Shadow take to the stage, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe about the place. Would The Babe Shadow, a small band from Kent, fit in within these walls? The crowd looked on curiousl:, they were an odd mix of middle-aged couples, shaven-headed geezers and young leather jacket-clad students.
The band launched confidently into their first song, with wonderful catchy guitar plucking, over sensitive drums that erupted as the song grew bigger. Lead singer Tom Cawte has a great and very unique-sounding voice, which at times filled the room spectacularly. I overheard an entertained audience member comparing them to the lights of Vampire Weekend,which is no bad thing. Though I would agree that the band share some similarities with Vampire Weekend, they are clearly doing their own thing and there is an inspiring uniqueness to their songs. Their last song, Sea Serpents, truly stood out. It’s a fabulous piece of musical creation, and was executed splendidly by the band. It went down brilliantly with the audience which had doubled by this point; the band exited the stage showered in whoops and cheers I even heard one fan on the balcony shouting for an encore.
I think this is definitely a band to watch. They are next playing at The Macbeth, London on the 19th May for their Ep launch party
Words: Jenny Dowdell