1. Z-Star Live Review: Century Club, Soho (19.06.15)
Andrew O'Connor
The Century Club in Soho was host to an unplugged yet charged up Z-Star last Friday. The band played a
12 song set for an intimate crowd in the private members club, managing to tear the attention of the
audience away from their cocktails and canapés in favour of a tall glass of blues rock with a Zee flavoured
twist. Z-Star radiated energy from the small stage, with front-woman Zee’s presence captivating audience
members with a mix of intensity and intimacy as she worked through her repertoire. Drummer Nick Bjere
and guitarist Sebastien Hientz were perfect accompaniments to the sound a feeling of Z-Star providing a
tight, understated platform, which allowed Zee to shine at centre stage, whilst sprinkling some delightful
solo's and fill's into the mix providing accent and tonality where necessary. Z-Star incorporate a wide
selection of musical influences, including heavy elements of funk and soul, with a solid foundation built on
powerful rock riffs and blues structures that strays into psychedelic pastures. Front-woman Zee adds a
vocal delivery encapsulating the energetic and emotive tension of a young Robert Plant while staying
soulfully reminiscent of Nina Simone. This is a sentiment that it seemed Zee is playfully aware of as she sat
down at the drum kit for a fierce display of her dark arts with a cover of Simone's I Put a Spell on You that
oozed with a deliberate and forceful tone consistent with Z-Star. The professional experience of the band
was evident as their tight knit grooves built momentum like a runaway freight train without the show
seeming routine or predictable. Zee's interactions with the crowd brought them closer into the performance
and encouraged the audience to interact and let loose their inhibitions in favour of feeding off of the
collective energy in the room for dancing fuel. Zee's on-stage presence was the stand out topic among the
audience after Z-Star's set finished, with remarks praising her ability to hypnotise audiences with both her
intensity and playfulness, which she flipped between without warning keeping members of the audience,
and the band, on their toes. Her new album, which is scheduled for release later this year, surely promises
more funk, soul and blues infused rock and roll with rumours of a further step into the strange world of
psychedelia.