Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Alice Russell show at Thekla in Bristol, England.

What a great excuse for a road trip – to travel from Oxford, on a mission to see this up and coming British Soul singer, to a city that I hadn’t yet been to, but had heard so much about – with its vibrant music scene and rich historical heritage. For some reason, quite a few acts have been skipping Oxford while on tour in the UK, which is why these excursions have become necessary.

We got to Bristol quite early in the day, so we had plenty of time to spare. We wandered around town, and with the weather being unpredictable – going from sunny, windy to rain at any moment, we had to be a bit creative for our daytime entertainment. So what do we do? Well, first we thought food might be a good way to start, so for lunch we ended up at Start the Bus. A funky bar – obviously set up for nighttime entertainment, with interesting drawings on the walls, seemingly a student hangout with okay food.

It might have been impressive to say that later, we went into the round, mirrored planetarium, then found some very interesting museums and learned as much as we could about the city while we were there…but rather than do that, we decided to James Bond it, and ended up at the cinema instead. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon though – we had the whole place to ourselves and I finally got to watch Quantum Of Solace. Oh, and to hear the Jack White, Alicia Keys duet on the big screen.

After the movie, we wandered around the Christmas market, toyed with the idea of going on the ferris wheel, and thought about how great a setting that would make for a fight scene in a Bond film. Then we walked down by the harbour to look for Thekla, the infamous club on a boat. After ‘phoning a friend’ for directions, we turned around and eventually found it. Cool place. We went in, and ordered a couple beers in plastic cups, and sat outside on the deck, looking forward to the upcoming show.

We finished our drinks and then went downstairs into the club area. This was the first time I had been to a club on a boat, and it didn’t disappoint. What a great idea. We sat down along the side of the room, but as the room slowly started filling up with people, eventually packing the place, we decided to go upstairs to the balcony, which was the right decision, because the view of the stage from up there was superb. There were a lot of Alice Russell fans down below in front of the stage anxiously awaiting her arrival, and I knew that if I was down there amongst it, I wouldn’t be able to see anything!

The crowd was a mix of all ages, but mostly appeared to be students. When the band, all dressed in white, and then Alice walked on stage, the crowd applauded and hollered with excitement. She looked great in a black dress with a shiny gold short sleeve and leopard-like print tights. The band was funky and once Alice started belting it out the audience seemed to be spellbound, as many danced along and kept their eyes glued to the stage.

Alice has a very strong, soulful voice, she seems to genuinely enjoy what she’s doing, and is a professional no doubt. Her engagement with the audience is top notch and I wouldn’t be surprised if I see her on Later with Jools Holland one day. I’m not quite sure, though, why she’s being compared to the likes of Duffy, Amy Winehouse and Adele – she doesn’t sound anything like them, not that any of them sound alike, either. It will be interesting to see how things go for her here and overseas, but if the crowd at Thekla is any indication, she’s sure to have a promising future.

Alice Russell has recently released her second studio album, ‘Pot of Gold‘.

Alice Russell on amazon.com

Alice Russell amazon.co.uk

Alice Russell Official Website
MySpace

By: Jenny May

We are excited to tell you that Alice Russell’s sophomore studio album, ‘Pot Of Gold’ has been released digitally and is now set for physical release on January 6th, 2009 in the US on Six Degrees Records.

Alice Russell review

Alice has developed a burgeoning career as one of the hottest UK soul singers today. While comparisons have been made to other popular British vocalists like Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Adele, one listen and look at Alice and you can immediately tell she’s in a class by herself.

Alice Russell on amazon.com

Alice Russell on amazon.co.uk

Download “Got the Hunger?” MP3 from Alice Russell’s new CD, ‘Pot of Gold’.

She has recorded and performed in well respected company that includes Massive Attack, The Roots, Lonnie Liston Smith, Femi Kuti, De La Soul, Quantic, and The Quantic Soul Orchestra to name a few. And her recent collaboration with Ninja Tune’s Mr. Scruff on “Music Takes Me Up” is a standout track from his new album Ninja Tuna and was released to rave reviews.

Blessed with a lavishly soulful voice, Alice manages to sound both timeless and modern. Her live performances have the unique ability to captivate an audience and to hold their attention expertly tugging at the heartstrings. Alice has used her talent to great effect, gaining renown for her performances with the mighty Quantic Soul Orchestra and more recently her own band. She has also supported Lonnie Liston Smith, Femi Kuti and De La Soul.

As for her own material, Alice has been distilling her sound, laying live strings, horns and piano to compliment very intimate and uplifting shift in her style for her new album, ‘Pot Of Gold’.

Alice Russell is also a featured artist on this fall’s Hotel Café Tour alongside fellow artists Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, and Thao Nguyen.

Alice Russell 2008 Tour Dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

13 Nov The Hotel Cafe Los Angeles CA
14 Nov Hiro Ballroom New York NY
19 Nov Hi-Fi Club Leeds, UK Leeds
21 Nov Mint Lounge Manchester, UK manchester
22 Nov Voodoo Rooms Edinburgh, Scotland
25 Nov Komedia Brighton
26 Nov Scala London, UK london town gov!
27 Nov Trabendo Paris, France
28 Nov Petrol Antwerp, Belgium
30 Nov Paradiso Amsterdam, Holland
3 Dec The Junction Cambridge, UK
4 Dec Thekla Bristol, UK
10 Dec Brownes Nottingham, UK
12 Dec Dimmidisi Club Roma, Italy
13 Dec Musicbox Lisbon, Portugal

For more music and information, go to:

Alice Russell Official Website
MySpace