Educatable entertains sell-out Chesterfield crowd with indie pop/rock songs about real-life experiences

From the moment the house lights went down and the laser lights accompanied the intro, this had the feel of a well

produced, arena-esque gig. The packed crowd cheered Educatable onto the stage and danced along from the opening bars of “Your Gift” – a Coldplay-ish type of bouncer that set the tone for the evening.

It was obvious that the transition from drummer to singer/guitarist has been seamless for this all round musician, and the set of 20 original songs was a mix of indie pop/rock with even a calypso beat to some songs such as “Until We Make A Mark Upon This World”.

Educatable’s lyrics aren’t the usual “boy meets girl” stuff, it’s clear the lyrics are about his own real life experiences, beliefs and the people around him. This was never more apparent than on “My Oldest Friend”, a heartfelt tribute to his best friend and bandmate Dom, who passed away at a tragically young age. Heartbreaking lyrics combined with a bouncy, dance along kind of song in pure artistry.

Technicolourful Skies” – a song about his travels around the world - had confetti cannons shooting over the crowd to keep the party atmosphere going, then another stomper of a song followed, “22.33” which is about Educatable’s toddler son, Sonny, whose baby chant is featured on the backing vocals!

A set of three acoustic songs followed to showcase the subtle side of Educatable’s writing. This included “I Lost You”, a tribute to his sister-in-law Donna, who is no longer with us.

The last few songs went up tempo again with more pyrotechnics and more confetti cannons. These songs included the U2 styled “More Than This”, “Love It All” which saw Educatable dip into the rap/chant genre and “Thank You” where he went back to his roots and played drums with flashing drumsticks for the outro.

The audience wouldn’t leave without an encore and this was “Staring At the Ceiling”, a reworking of an old Educatable band song, which the crowd danced and sang along to.

Light-up wristbands were supplied to everyone and throughout the gig arms were held aloft as the wristbands kicked into life and flashed in unison.

Educatable’s next gig is at Corporation, Sheffield, on April 28 already has low ticket availability. Do yourself a favour and go see Educatable before he is selling out larger venues in far-off places.