Whilst the kids were trick or treating and the celebs were parading their scariest outfits, we had the pleasure of attending an unashamedly nerdy but spooktacularly amazing Kate Nash gig in the heart of Hackney!
The Brit Award winning and ever-so lovely Kate Nash performed a Buffy The Vampire Slayer-themed Halloween show in the Attic of at the Hackney Picturehouse. The nineties kid in us was pretty chuffed.
Kate, her all-girl band and several guest performers, including the very talented Emmy the Great, recreated the famed musical-themed episode, Once More, With Feeling. Dressed as the star of the show, cheerleading vampire slayer, Buffy Summers, Kate donned blonde locks, a cheerleading uniform with poms poms and ‘cheer’ socks to boot and an arsenal for slaying including a large cross necklace, wooden spikes and holy water.
Despite the obvious fun factor of the themed gig we were intrigued as to why Kate chose Buffy as her Queen of Halloween: “Buffy was my first feminist hero, she validated being a teenage girl…plus she’s cute and gets to beat up bad guys”.
Kate added: “Me and Emmy the Great were hanging out over summer watching Buffy, sharing our obsession with the show- we just drunkenly said how amazing it would be to recreate the musical episode so we made it happen. We just got a gang of nerdy friends and fans together to dress up and perform!”
The attic of the Picturehouse was the perfect setting for Kate’s intimate gig - fans had donned their best scary ensembles and Buffy episodes were projected onto the walls whilst the band ran through the tongue-in-cheek songs in their entirety. The show went down a storm, securing Kate Nash’s Halloween gig as the coolest if slightly eccentric place to be in London. The themed gig kicked off her mini tour where she will be showcasing her new sound from her upcoming album.
You may have heard Kate’s new musical offerings back in June in the form of her pop-punk riot grrl inspired track Underestimate the Girl - It got quite the reaction and you can expect more of Kate’s edgier sound from the upcoming album.
When speaking about Underestimate the Girl Kate touched upon the online reaction- “I think people are shocked by women that express anger. Society wants women to be polite and neat and tidy and to cry from frustration rather than scream about it.”
The spooky gig followed the special release of Kate’s new song FRI-END? With its a Halloween-themed video and free song download for fans ahead of the release of her upcoming EP. You can also check Kate’s collaboration with American band, Fidlar, with their new single, Awwkward. Expect new wave, shoe-gaze angst from this track…We love it!
Check out Kate's video for FRI-END below:
Emily Stockham
Photos: Clare Nash
