Review: Eszter Vida’s Live at Leeds Debut

‘You all look so defeated. Is it because you’re seeing me instead of English Teacher?’

Festival clashes are an ever-present evil. How could anyone choose between Beabadoobee and Jorja Smith, or between SZA and James Blake? I don’t doubt that rising star Eszter Vida was a little bit worried when she found out her Live at Leeds debut clashed with the Mercury Prize winning English Teacher, but where most people would crumble, she took it in stride. It’s an honour to call Eszter my friend, and my editor, and I can firmly say that even if my friendship, my career, and my life weren’t on the line, she would still be a highlight of my Live at Leeds experience.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing Eszter live a few times, but this set was her at her very best. Her band noticeably lacked a drummer, and while I expected her to pull through, I thought the set would hit a solid ceiling of momentum. Frankly, I’ve never been more wrong, and I’ve never been happier about it; the energy in the room was palpable as Eszter invited us into her world for a breathtaking thirty minutes. Her opener, ‘Kingdom’, was marvellously addictive, and since watching the set I’ve found myself singing the chorus over and over and over again; ‘What did I see in you?’ 

I always admire how different Eszter’s sets are to her recorded songs. Producer Evan Martin, who she’s dubbed as a ‘synth god’, joined her onstage, but their collaboration was far from uninteresting. Keeping a performance engaging is deceptively difficult, and while Eszter’s uniquely percussive lyrics were enough to draw me in and keep me there, I still found myself in awe of the sheer range of sounds produced by her band; balancing drum machines, synths, guitars and flutes is no easy feat, but from the way Eszter and her band jump from one soundscape to another, you’d think it was as easy as breathing.

Unreleased tune ‘Is This My Last Night With You? and closer ‘Ethereal’ were my personal highlights. It’s hard to bring energy to a crowd, but even harder to bring a performance from a boil to a steady simmer, and keep an audience captivated as you lay your emotions bare. Eszter seems to have mastered this, as I found my mind drifting around her lyrics like a planet to a star; ‘A basket of eggs smashed on the floor / I don’t want more / Let it all fall.’

Eszter Vida is one to watch. I don’t know where she’s going next, but I do know I’ll be seated in the front row, armed with endless praise and a glowing review. Big things are coming. 

Words by Lucas Assagba