Paolo Nutini, Phones 4u Arena, Manchester

To the sound of 21,000 cheering fans; Paolo casually strolled on stage, clad in a pair of well worn skinny jeans and a leather jacket, unfazed by the vastness of Manchester's Phones 4u Arena, which was packed with a diverse audience, ranging from rowdy teenagers to tranquil seniors.

If you've listened to Paolo's albums from back in 2006, These Streets, and in 2009, Sunny Side Up, you'll notice that after a 5 year gap he has inevitably gone down a new route, with his latest album 'Caustic Love'.

The change of musical direction was evident during his performance.. His alternative version of 'Jenny Don't Be Hasty' was psychedelic and upbeat and ended with a similarly trippy version of 'New Shoes'.

As well as doing different interpretations of his own songs, between the set he teased the audience and played a verse from Oasis' track 'Half the World Away'. During the encore, he backtracked to his Live Lounge session at Radio One and covered MGMT, 'Time To Pretend'. Using the word 'cover' loosely because he truly made the track his own, along with his trumpet band that he affectionately named 'The Horns of Thunder'.

His band also deserve timeless, acknowledgement, especially the bassist that played deep grooving chords that thumped chests, juddered through bodies, and the angelic female backing singer that really shone during the impeccable, 'One Day'. But even when he was performing solo, Nutini's raspy voice effortlessly managed to fill the arena. 

Concluding his two hour performance with a reworked version of a track that everyone seemed to be waiting for, 'Last Request'. It wasn't as gentle as the original, but it was still a delight to have to the privilege of hearing such a beautiful track live. In awe of his prowess it's true that Nutini truly relayed his godly being throughout his enchanting performance.  

Words by Siobhan Corcoran

0 comments:

Post a Comment