The Friday night crowd had come to celebrate the weekend, the bank holiday – and possibly half term too – and they were definitely in the mood to party.
So much so that it seems many didn’t notice that the Ezra Collective were not so collected. It’s the only time I’ve seen a bass player stop part way through a song to check his phone for messages, and then stop again when he realised he hadn’t plugged it back in the charger.
The keyboards were fast, but reverb covered their dubious accuracy.
Band leader and drummer Femi Koleoso demonstrated true skill and stage presence, connecting both through music and his between-song banter.
Occasionally the rest of the band rose to his level and delivered something truly good, but too often it fell apart and was only covered by the crowd’s conviction they would celebrate come what may.
