No one can accuse Welsh songstress Chez Kane of not putting in the hard yards. This show in Kingston’s rock pub, in my South West London heartland, marked the last of a remarkable ten ‘in-store’ acoustic appearances in seven days to support the release of her third solo album ‘Reckless’. She had the misfortune to release her debut in the pandemic so, in touring terms, has had to catch up on lost time to some extent, though I have fond memories of her high energy shows at Malmö Melodic and the V24 rock fest on Wakefield in the past couple of years.

There was also a bonus in a solo support from Henry Gottelier, whose band The Karma Effect are about to release their third album. His flowing hair tied up, his presentation was much lower key than his rock star persona in the day job, not to mention his recent appearances fronting Myke Gray’s band, and it was great to get a more intimate insight into his and the band’s influences.

However in a half hour set he proved he could carry a tune with no holds barred delivery of established Karma Effect favourites like ‘Living It Up’, ‘All Night Long’ and ‘Wrong Again’, with a powerful yet plaintive voice a cross between Robert Plant and Billy Squier.

He mentioned how ‘Be My Salvation’ reflected their southern and gospel influences and that ‘Testify’ began as a Tom Petty-like song before the band gave it a full on treatment, then finished, as in their live sets, with ‘Steal Your Heart’, brought to a very nifty conclusion. He asked anyone unfamiliar with their work who liked new bands and classic rock to check out his parent band, and I couldn’t have said it better myself.

When Chez Kane came on, you could almost touch the celebratory end of term feel that came with this being the last in that exhausting run of appearances so it was appropriate that the title track of ‘Reckless’, with its big chorus, opened proceedings before a trip back to the first album with ‘Better Than Love’ showing that her powerful voice can also handle more melodic material.

She was accompanied by usual guitarists James Ready and Harry Scott Elliott, who played acoustically but with great vigour, as well as adding backing vocals. Indeed, combined with Chez giving her vocal all just as Henry had done earlier, the overall effect was a set surprisingly close in energy to a full band performance.

The format did though give her the opportunity to share her musical journey with the audience at greater length, from her good fortune at being paired with Danny Rexon when the Crazy Lixx singer was seeking a female-fronted project for some eighties-inspired songs he had written, to her love of Def Leppard growing up, prior to ‘Personal Rock’n’roll’.

Another discovery through older sisters was Pat Benatar so in the surprise of the night she covered ‘Love is a Battlefield’ in splendidly authentic fashion.

She addressed head on what for some is the elephant in the room, saying that her raunchy videos and attire were a form of escapism into the world of eighties glamour and of feeling good doing so. After a couple more off the new album in ‘Love Tornado’ and ‘Tongue of Love’, complete with some innuendo-laced banter, she ended by belting out first album classic ‘Rocket on the Radio’, which generated quite a singalong, before staying for signings and photos in equally personable fashion.

Hopefully all that hard roadwork will pay off in terms of ‘Reckless’ raising her profile. This unplugged evening was even more enjoyable than I imagined, so roll on the London headline when she hits the road with a full band in May.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 30 March 2026

EVA UNDER FIRE Villainous (Better Noise Music)
HOKKA Blackbird (Nuclear Blast Records)
CELLDWELLER Elaleth (FiXT)
DAEDRIC Iridescent Wings (FiXT)
ARKADO Phoenix And Stardust (Pride & Joy Music)
THE DAVIDSON TRIO Disillusion (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC Catacombs (Long Branch Records)

Featured Albums w/c 16 March 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
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