I’m Doug and I’ve been studying at Bradford over the last four years. Join me as I take a look back at the free live music acts who’ve performed at the Students’ Union Coffee House Sessions this semester. First up is Mike Watson.
Mike Watson
After a long summer break, it was about time to see some decent live music in Student Central again. Last year, we witnessed some really amazing, but also, (let’s be honest!) some really bad Coffee House Sessions, so this year, I decided not expect too much every week – just to avoid the pain of the crushing disappointment. There’s nothing worse than really looking forward to the next performance and they end up not living up to the expectations.
It’s seems like a long time ago now that Mike Watson came to Bradford so where do I begin…
You know how you’re told to never judge a book by its cover? Yeah, I feel like a monumental idiot for doing so [again!]. In terms of appearance, Mike Watson came across as the typical ‘British boy’ who American girls in the movies keep crushing on. It’s cold and rainy outside, Mike rocks up in a t-shirt. He also looked like the kind of guy who drops into conversation at a house party that he can play guitar and begins to play Wonderwall… You know exactly what kind of person I am talking about, and I hate myself for initially putting Mike in this bracket.
In terms of his music, Mike Watson’s songs had a nice, melodic feel to them, with repetitive and memorable choruses. Even though some of the choruses were repetitive, they were not annoying like in other chart songs. Mike also covered two songs; She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5, who he apparently toured with, and Olivia by John Mayer. Those two songs were good examples of Mike knowing which songs he can cover. His voice really suits the acoustic style that he played. I know this sounds a bit gushing, but everything about his songs and the overall performance was perfect.
Mike Watson’s Coffee House Performance was like a Haribo Star Mix – everything went down well. Even though all of the songs he played sounded quite similar, he managed to pull it off and I’m really looking forward to the EP he is releasing sometime next year,
For the time being, you can find him on Apple Music and Spotify or take a look at his performance here:
Again, I am sorry for judging Mike more than a suburban mom who needs to take her three kids to soccer practice, but Mike is probably one of the most down to earth guys that we have seen perform at Coffee House Sessions! Rather than just performing his set, he also interacted with the crowd. He even bought a Twix from one of the stalls. It was an excellent start to Coffee House Sessions and set the bar really high for the acts to follow
You may doubt me, and say “Doug, you’re an idiot”. But believe me when I say that Mike Watson’s performance was amazing. Can he do it on a cold night in Stoke? Most certainly yes!
Songs: 5/5
Atmosphere in Student Central: 5/5
Stay tuned for my next Coffee House blog review where I’ll be giving my views on FLAWES. Hope you enjoyed the read and if you saw Mike performing, what did you think?
Author: Doug Schulz
RamAir student radio legend Doug is currently doing is PhD at Bradford after completing his undergraduate in Sociology and a MA in Peace Studies.
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