Emeli Sande + guests @ HMV Institute, Birmingham – 14th April 2012
12 months ago Emeli Sande was a name known only to a few music insiders as a promising young writer from Scotland. Fast forward to a packed, sell out Saturday night at HMV Institute and a year which she can only have dreamed of sees her headlining her first ever gig in Birmingham. What the two support acts would give for a similar 12 months!
First up is Seye, A young charismatic bass player, with good vocals to match. He was full of energy, immersing himself in the small amount of the sellout crowd that was in the room for the opening acts. Performing songs ‘Joanna’, ‘White Noise’ and what I tip to be a future hit ‘All The Girls On TV’, Seye kept telling us his name is eyes backwards. Eh si eno ot hctaw= He is one to watch.
Next up was Jess Mills, a very interesting techno pop singer with a beautiful face and a body to match. She gave a good account of herself considering how poorly she said she had been over the past couple of days. Performing tracks ‘Live for What I Die For’ ‘How Could This be Love’ and ‘For My Sins’. Along with an intriguing sound, her presence on stage was really felt by her hypnotizing hip movements and support of a drummer and keyboard player.
Waiting for the Angel of Aberdeen, Emeli Sande, to make the stage was reminding me of her journey to become a platinum selling songstress and the release of her album. Anticipation. It was a long wait but trust me she was worth the wait. Her entrance to the stage completely ignited the audience, her glowing hair and powerful presence was there to be seen.
The single ‘Daddy’ was the opening song of her set, followed by an exclusive, ‘Tiger’, and a reggae rendition of ‘Climb’.
Upon performing each song Emeli explained to the audience the inspiration and story behind each track on ‘Our Version Of Events’. The stand out track was ‘Breaking the Law’ and Emeli explained how much of an inspiration her sister has been on herself and career. “There are some people in life we would break all the laws for”.
Fans of Emeli were also treated to a combination of ‘River + Hope’, and also another exclusive to watch out for, ‘One Day’.
Of the many cheers on the night, One of the loudest was the performance of number one single ‘Heaven’, with most of the audience singing back to her
“I wait with good intentions”
Like mentioned earlier Emeli Sande likes to keep us patiently waiting, but as they say “Good things come to those who wait” and, take my word for it, the goods turned up. There was certainly an emotional connection between Emeli and her audience, clearly to be seen when she had completed the show and left the stage to rapturous applaud and a standing ovation from the seated section of the crowd. Emeli’s encore beckoned and we were treated to her hit single ‘Next To Me’ to the delight of the fans.
Special mentions to her band, Katie & Liz on backing vocals and James, Jonathon,Gavin and Wayne. They really complimented the wonderful music on the night.
If you treated yourself to a copy of ‘Our Version Of Events’, reward yourself by seeing Emeli Sande live. It is highly recommended.
Review – Chadwick Jackson