Beabadoobee // St Pancras Old Church, December 2018 – Ella McKee
With just thirty seats and a little standing room at the back, St Pancras Old Church has a warmth and intimacy that makes the chapel seem more like the bedroom of your best friend than a music venue. As settings go, it was cosily ideal for Beabadoobee’s debut London headliner on a cold December night in 2018. Bea’s family and close friends sat on the floor filling up the first few front seats of the church, whilst the rest of the audience perched on pews illuminated by candles and deep red lighting. Accompanied only by her acoustic guitar, Bea laughed and joked with the audience, calling out to her little brother, and giggling after accidentally messing up her set before confessing her nerves. “Sorry!”, she said, “This is so mad to me that people actually want to listen to my music.”
Delicate guitar melodies and soft vocals combined with the intimacy of this tiny venue transported me into Bea’s brain as I listened to her rendition of the bittersweet collection of songs from her EP Patched Up, self-described as “a collection of songs that patch up a history of teenage unhappiness in the lead up to turning 18 years old”. After the gig, Bea met her fans outside, asking them questions about their day and complimenting their outfits. The night felt like a meet up with a friend, and one that I’ll never forget.