Making my way to Birmingham’s academy, I was met with a 200m que as people had faced the bitter snowy March evening to see 2012’s biggest selling artist Emeli Sandé.
The opening act was Birmingham’s own Jacob Banks. Bank’s voice was incredibly soulful. I really enjoyed his rendition of Bob Marley’s classic “Is This Love“. Bank’s song “Rainy day” was something that made me really take notice of his performance in which it really made me look forward to getting his free E.P (available here). I felt like Bank’s sound’s like a stripped down version of Emeli Sandé and was definitely the right choice for an opening act. His voice was complimented by his backing band whom delivered the emphasis and power behind his music. Bank’s is definitely one to check out this festival season, and I can see him sitting comfortably in the the charts; dare I say it, he may even be a good rival against Labrinth and Olly Murs.
Sandé opened up powerfully with a crowd favourite “Heaven”. She humberly thanked the audience for supporting her through her career. Sandé went on to sing “Where I sleep” and then dedicated third in her set “Breaking the Law” to her sister.
Fourth song in the set saw a stripped down version of “Suitcase” in which she sat down on a stool and engaged the audience intimately. The next in her set, was brand new to her audience. The song titled “The Half of It” was quite controversial as it was centred around the 2011 riots. This was followed by another new song entitled “Pluto”, which had a notable guitar solo. This was followed by a powerful rendition of “My Kind of Love”. Sandé gained audience participation that really added an atmosphere. Sandé’s backing band really came in full form during this song, adding great support and soul. “Clown” had the whole audience singing and dancing. It was nice to see Sandé on her own with just a piano with a later added support of keyboard backing, “Clown” really highlighted why she is the main attraction of the show.
“River” followed this, which had the implementation of a rotating orb with spotlight lighting adding a smooth calming rhythmic feel to the song. Another brand new song was preformed next entitled “This Much is True” which was dedicated and centred around Sandé’s recent marriage to Adam Gouraguine. “This Much is True” was a heart felt song with some cliche lines like “I love you this much, is true” but for some reason I wasn’t filled with loathing; but admiration for the love she feels.
After Sandé played her infamous song “Read All About It” (which of course the entire crowd singing) had Sandé performing to a sea of raised smart phones. Sandé’s band delivered an amazing breakdown towards the end of the song with her drummer stealing the spotlight respectively. Sandé preformed “Beneath You’re Beautiful” by Labrinth in which she features. Her backing vocalist filling in Labrinth’s place bravely taking a solo lead at the start of the song which had the audience respond to positively. This lead to both Sandé and her backing vocalist singing a powerful duet.
The penultimate song, “Daddy” had great harmonising backing vocals which gained the biggest crowd reaction of the night. Last in the set “Wonder” had some amazing drums that got the crowd clapping singing and moving, ending the set on a high. Sandé’s encore was “Mountains” and the of course the crowd favourite “Next to Me” had the entire crowd excited and euphoric.
I’d give this performance a 5 star as Sandé is a flawless performer who can encaptures her audience’s attention merley on her vocal ability alone. I would definitely recommend seeing her and I don’t even like pop. With acts like Sandé and Bastille topping the UK charts, anyone who doubts the future of Virgin Records should rethink any negative opinion.
Watch the video for Clown: