It’s a supportive crowd brewing inside the stifling (as usual) Toff, and Spender (aka Tommy Spender and his band) throw fuel to this fire with the perfect balance of well-performed music and charming self-deprecation.
Even being so bold as to cover Frank Ocean’s “Super Rich Kids”, Spender channels his soulful side with a huge dollop of humour and the band loosely wrap things up with a shared laugh; “I’m sorry, Frank Ocean! He’s not in his grave but I’m sure he’s turning over in his Lamborghini!”
Their set transitions smoothly from grooving, light tunes to tight, UK inspired electro pop with Spender’s occasionally dark lyrical content. It’s difficult not to bop along with the enthusiastic bass player, a well-utilised looping station creating lush sounds, and of course the endearing nature that comes with the frontman’s banter.
The woman of the night, Ainslie Wills, swiftly follows her solid opening act with thrice the strength, simply by beginning with her solo stance on stage.
Flooding the venue with beautifully muted strums of her equally stunning Les Paul, the crowd reacts immediately and they are morbidly silent in response to Wills’ imploringly repeated line, “Will I ever see you again?”
While the rest of the band, including fellow guitarist and pivotal collaborator Lawrence Folvig, join the stage, their sudden, noiseless appearance is a reminder that this is indeed not a solo show.
The band delves into the single that broke Ainslie Wills onto the music scene back in 2010; “Wide Load” receives a raucous cheer from the audience as the show kicks off.
For over an hour, the dancing is infectious – from the three fans down the front who never stop grooving, to the shy couple up the back near the bar who end up on their feet – and the mood within the Toff is magical.
The crowd is granted a glimpse into the upcoming debut album release, You’ll Go Your Way, I’ll Go Mine (expected out in early 2013) with new tracks like “Love In Japan”.
Speaking not too long ago with Tone Deaf about the delay in the release – it was supposed to be out in September – Wills’ logic of letting singles have some breathing space now makes physical sense.
The audience simply laps up what the band – and particularly what the charismatic frontwoman – doles out, both the never-before-heard tracks and the favourite singles of the past couple of years.
Tommy Spender re-enters the stage for a duet with Wills for the classic “Sign Your Name” by Terence Trent D’Arby. While Spender is slightly underprepared by reading the lyrics, Wills carries it out with her pitch-perfect control of the microphone and easy-as-breathing delivery.
Though such natural ability on stage may be intimidating for some, Wills is completely free of any such drama. She kicks off her shoes early on, thanks the crowd relentlessly, and with total sincerity for supporting live music and has the room laughing more than once with her delectable banter.
Their smart cover of “The High Road” by Broken Bells really shines a light on Wills’ and fellow bandmate Natalie Lewis’ well-balanced harmonies – while Lewis deftly controls the keys and synth as well.
Drummer Arron Light provides a supportive backbone to the mostly guitar-focussed atmospheric music before his surprisingly imperative presence during the “Fighting Kind” to truly create a creepy cascade of symbols; and bass player Jules Pascoe is right there behind him to follow the waterfall.
“Stop Pulling The String” is a highlight with more of Wills’ fantastically controlled, yet still heavily effecting calls of “Gonna shout at the top of my lungs/ For whatever to get out of the way.”
If you weren’t fussed about the delay in Ainslie Wills’ album release to begin with, the performance at the Toff will no doubt push it to one of the most highly anticipated releases for 2013.
