Words by Murat Yilmaz Gökmen
Photos by Jonangelo Molinari & Dan Wilton

Last Friday night the Lock Tavern in Camden, London played host to the soulful folk band, Lulu & The Lampshades, formerly known as Helouisa. Fresh off the open mic circuit, the band are deservedly moving on to bigger and better things, and their performance on Friday even had the ‘I don’t give a shit about anything because I wear a neck-tie and braces’ barman giving it some from behind the beer taps.

Lead singer Luisa herself admits that the band is under-rehearsed and under-produced, but this is what gives the sound its edge. Though it’s quite clear that everything was put together in a bedroom over a glass of wine or two, it’s just as obvious that it’s put together by someone who’s talented and has something original to say. The band uses a quirky array of instruments, ranging from the usual drum, bass and guitar, to a violin, Casio keyboard, melodica, and Luisa’s trademark ukulele, not to mention her remarkable voice.

The show also saw the debut of the lampshade backing dancers dressed in onesies with, well, lampshades on their heads. Neither lampshade could see the other, so their three-minute choreographic rehearsal made about as much difference as Razorlight, but again this added to the charm of the gig.

The lampshades also had an interesting effect on the male section of the crowd; we noticed one man’s eyes darting desperately around the room, looking everywhere apart from directly in front of him, where a lampshade’s boobs happened to be.

The amount of fun Luisa and the rest of the band have on stage when they play is infectious, and within minutes the whole room was jumping up and down like a bunch of excited little mountain goats. Even the onlooking, BAFTA award winning documentary filmmaker, Ross Kemp, was spotted in the crowd, clearly liking what he witnessed.