It’s a Saturday night in Glasgow and also the start of half term here in Scotland and the queue for the O2 ABC wrapped around three streets. Some members of the crowd had been queuing since 8am to get a good spot at this gig! The ABC was host to two YouTube musicians, Tessa Violet and BRY. The crowd were geared up for a good night, with a handful of people singing and dancing along to YMCA which was playing as the venue began to fill up. Two people who stood next to me chose to do the macarena (an excellent choice, I must say).
First up was Tessa Violet, also known as Meekakitty on YouTube, with her song ‘Dream’, from her latest EP ‘Halloway’. Her arms floated around as she sung and I found her stage presence quite relaxed but entertaining. I’m insanely jealous of how beautiful her pastel pink hair is. But enough about hair, let’s talk about the set. The set began with instrumental tracks of ‘Dream’ and ‘Haze’ and whilst she sung she was accompanied by a drummer on stage which added a texture to the track. Her voice is soft and so sweet. A kind of voice you could listen to when you’re relaxing at home over a cup of tea or when you’re on your commute to work. A calm, relaxing voice that you can’t help but enjoy listening to.
She grabbed her guitar to play a few acoustic versions of her songs, but one moment in this segment of her set filled me up with tears. Before she began to play ‘Make Me A Robot’, a track from her album ‘Maybe Trapped Mostly Troubled’, she talked about when she wrote the song she was suffering from anxiety and how she had recently started going to therapy. She reminded the audience that even when things get tough and we feel worthless, we all have purpose. That made my eyes water. A powerful message to say to such a young demographic that was stood around me. I think Tessa is funny, charming and very down to Earth. An American Adele in terms of personality. Her set was energetic, moving and if she doesn’t come back to do her own headline show, I’m going to complain. A lot.
Next up was BRY, a charming (and very tall) Irishman with an Ireland flag tied around his microphone stand (in case his accent wasn’t clear enough). There were fairy lights around the keyboard and his band and himself made the stage their home for the night. He introduced his set by saying he will be performing songs from the album BRY by the artist known as BRY. The crowd chuckled, as did I.
BRY (previously known as BriBry on YouTube) began his set with ‘Don’t Go Alone’. His voice has a similar soft tone to the music of Passenger, whilst the band had a Snow Patrol kind of sound with indie rock elements. This track had my foot tapping and the audience dancing. There was a red glittery stripe on BRY’s cheek and he wore his trademark black hat which reminded me of Adam Ant and a young eighties Boy George.
The next song they played was ‘Everything’ and that high note in the chorus is so smooth and sleek, BRY’s voice was practically flawless. I cannot think of anything bad to say about him and the band because there wasn’t. The charm that was evident in their songs was equally present in the between-song banter. Their short story about getting drunk in Edinburgh was hilarious and showed such authenticity in their character. I thoroughly enjoyed this gig. BRY’s set was authentic and unique, with his charm and personality oozing out through every track he played. If you want to see people who are as real and as raw as you can get, BRY and Tessa are the people to see.
They still have a few tour dates left in the UK so I’d catch them before they go across Europe:
http://bryontour.com/tour.html
Words: Rebecca Brierley
Pictures: Richard Robinson
You can also find BRY and Tessa via these links:
Tessa Violet
YouTube: www.youtube.com/meekakitty/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/meekakitty/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TessaViolet/
BRY
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BriBryontour
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bryontour
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bryontour
Website: bryontour.com
