The ICA is one of those venues where you tend to get an eclectic crowd, and Irish singer-songwriter David Kitt attracted an equally diverse range of fans to the ICA on Friday. It wasn’t a full house, but the venue is cosy and the gig felt very intimate, more like you were sitting in Kitt’s bedroom, where he allegedly produces most of his songs.
Kitt, affectionately known as Kittser, was joined by his equally eclectic two-man backing group, consisting of an older bloke who looked like Van Morrison, and a huge Irishman with a massive ginger Mick Hucknall hairdo, a shocking red suit, a trumpet and a penchant for dancing wildly to every song.
Armed with a guitar and an ipod-type gadget which pumped out pre-recorded backing tracks, Kittser started the evening off low-tech, built up the electronica to a crescendo, and then brought everyone back down again gently with acoustic ballads and fancy fingerwork on his guitar. It took a while for the crowd to get going, but that changed once Kitt started to play popular numbers like Song From Hope St., Saturdays, and Don't F**k With Me and Say No More from his recent album Not Fade Away (Rough Trade).
One of the most appealing things about Kittser’s music is that the melodies are simple and lyrics incredibly honest and poignant. He manages all of this without being even slightly twee, even if most of the time his songs don’t push any major boundaries of originality. It’s easy to see why he has developed such a loyal fan base: Kitt chatted comfortably with the crowd between songs, and his sidekick the mad red Irishman was clearly a customary hit with Kittser fans.
Listen to more of David Kitt on his myspace page at www.myspace.com/davidkitt.
Words by Kerry Bannister
