Kate Nash Curses Up a Storm in Chicago

Posted on Nov 10th 2010 12:00PM by Garin Pirnia
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Christie Goodwin, Getty Images

No-nonsense British songstress Kate Nash didn't hold anything back when she performed at Chicago's Park West Tuesday night. Accompanied by a three-piece backup band, the coy singer covered everything from punk to soul during her 90-minute set.

Seated at her light-bulb-adorned piano, the fiery redhead opened with the poppy 'Do-Wah-Do,' yelling the lyric "she's a b----" at the end and setting the tone for the rest of the night. Many of her songs used cursing to touch upon love gone wrong, especially 'R N B Side,' an extra track from her latest record 'My Best Friend Is You.' She encouraged the crowd to sing along to the chorus of "Why did you have to be such a wanker?" but first asked the audience if they knew what the word meant. To those uninformed, she said it was the Brits' way of saying someone was a "d----head or a douchebag."

Nash continued to educate the Americans on slang during the romantic acoustic number 'I Hate Seagulls.' She announced it was a quiet song and everyone should "shut the f--- up for god's sake." The crowd abided and when she mentioned "chips" in a lyric, Nash quickly clarified while singing that chips were the British version of fries.

Throughout the show, Nash alternated between playing the piano and her guitar on tracks like the rocking 'Skeleton Song,' 'Birds' and the punkish 'Take Me to a Higher Plane.' At times, she seemed rather exasperated by the overwhelming shouts of "I love you" from the audience, but when someone asked if they could be in the band she responded with a giggle and, "I don't even know you, but maybe." After performing the lascivious 'Mansion Song,' Nash addressed her frequent profanity by joking that she probably turned some of her fans on.

Nash received the liveliest response from the crowd when she performed her biggest hit 'Foundations' from her debut, 'Made of Bricks.' The talky, acrimonious song conjured a clap-along while her bassist railed on his instrument like a rock god. After ending on the piano-fueled 'Merry Happy,' Nash came back for one more. "This is your last chance to party," she joked and started into 'Pumpkin Soup.' Heads bobbed along to the soulfulness and, during the crescendo, Nash pounded and slid her hands up and down the ivories, generating a sheer cacophony to close out the raucous evening.

Watch Kate Nash's Spinner Interview