{"id":94008,"date":"2025-07-17T19:56:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T18:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/?p=94008"},"modified":"2025-07-18T16:35:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T15:35:38","slug":"live-report-silky-sounds-at-the-lower-third-with-nao-yoshioka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/2025\/07\/live-report-silky-sounds-at-the-lower-third-with-nao-yoshioka\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Report: Silky sounds at The Lower Third with Nao Yoshioka"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lower Third is based in the bustling heart of London, and after descending the steps into its cavernous venue, we are greeted with a rather nifty live room. Its raw concrete, brutalist walls are conducive to a great sound, and it’s one that tonight\u2019s opener\u2019s Orchard, put to good use. They\u2019re an eight-piece band who remind me of a younger version of Stone Foundation and deliver a similar soulful sound. Despite operating as an octet, the stage doesn\u2019t look cluttered, and they don\u2019t sound it either; each band member buds and blossoms at the optimum moment, coming to the fore then receding as required. Original tracks are rich and velvety and flow like silk and Grateful<\/em>\u00a0makes for a memorable conclusion and signposts big things.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Orchard<\/h6>\n
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Fresh from Brighton\u2019s Great Escape festival, CROOKS INC hit The Lower Third stage like a well-oiled machine and by the time we hit second track London Is Mine<\/em>, the band are firmly in their groove. There\u2019s an otherworldly, dreamy nature to many of their songs and they are tunes that radiate good vibes throughout the venue. The band lock in tightly and display a good chemistry, almost a sixth sense, and that\u2019s vitally important when it comes to songs such as You & I<\/em>\u00a0with its staccato riff. There\u2019s plenty of variety on offer to ensure that their set ebbs and flows perfectly, there\u2019s a good use of musical dynamics that juxtaposes loud with quiet sections and sung by a vocalist with an impressive range, all of which makes CROOKS INC an intriguing proposition.<\/p>\n

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CROOKS INC<\/h6>\n
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Such is the buzz and expectation surrounding Nao Yoshioka\u2019s appearance tonight that even the crew get a cheer as they\u2019re preparing the stage, and the tension that\u2019s generated as the clock slowly ticks towards showtime becomes palpable. When Nao and her band finally take to the stage, that cheer becomes an ocean\u2019s roar and Feeling So Bright<\/em> makes for a perfect set opener. In a bright orange top and moving with feline grace, Nao has definite star quality and ensures that every pair of eyes (and ears) are turned towards the stage. Backed by a solid band who provide a solid bedrock, Nao performs all sorts of vocal gymnastics on top, yet even when she sings soliloquy, she commands the crowd\u2019s full attention; when Nao sings, people listen!<\/p>\n

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Nao Yoshioka<\/h6>\n
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It\u2019s a set list that stops along all points of Nao\u2019s career with the Shuko remix of Nobody Chase Me<\/em> going down particularly well and a melody of Make The Change<\/em> and If You U Believe<\/em> being particularly poignant. ‘Are you ready to dance?’ Nao asks as an introduction to My Love <\/em>and the crowd don\u2019t need asking twice as the band and crowd become one to turn the whole venue into a huge dance floor. There are no encores tonight and that means the set comes to something of a sudden stop with Unapologetically Me<\/em>, yet there\u2019s not a person present who hasn\u2019t been touched by Nao\u2019s heartfelt performance.<\/p>\n

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Nao Yoshioka<\/h6>\n
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Nao Yoshioka Set List:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Feeling So Bright
\n2. Free As A Bird
\n3. Nobody Chase Me (Shuko Remix)
\n4. Love Is What We Find
\n5. LOST
\n6. Selfish
\n7. Note To Self
\n8. You Never Know
\n9. Wave
\n10. Make The Change\/If U Believe
\n11. My Love
\n12. Unapologetically Me<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Photography: by JJ Grant (wonderlens<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Lower Third is based in the bustling heart of London, and after descending the steps into its cavernous venue, we are greeted with a rather nifty live room. Its raw concrete, brutalist walls are conducive to a great sound, and it’s one that tonight\u2019s opener\u2019s Orchard, put to good use. They\u2019re an eight-piece band […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":94067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"2","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"bottom","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"1","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"no-crop","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-715"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":"Nao Yoshioka + CROOKS INC + Orchard at The Lower Third, London on 19.05.2025"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3088],"tags":[8205],"class_list":["post-94008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jpn-music-events","tag-nao-yoshioka"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94008"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94172,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94008\/revisions\/94172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}