Lisa Stansfield + Irit @ Symphony Hall , 17 April 2018
Our first heatwave of 2018 may not have started until the next morning, but from the beginning of this evening’s performance I felt like I was on holiday in Europe. Perhaps Spain or the South of France. Israeli singer Irit took to the stage in a red, bardot-cut jumpsuit with side-frills and bare feet, together with her backing band of a classical guitarist, accordionist and percussionist.
Irit’s six-track performance displayed her strong vocal and, whilst predominately influenced by a western style, we heard flavours from around the world with a strong eastern influence on a couple of her tracks. She also performed a cover of ‘To Love Somebody’, originally by the Bee Gees.
Looking around the hall during the interval I clocked that I was one of the younger members of the audience (happy times!). The average age was around 50-60, but boy were the crowd up for it. By song four most people were on their feet dancing and they stayed that way for the rest of the night.
The set opened with Lisa’s nine-strong backing band performing an intro before she took to the stage for ‘Everything’ from new album Deeper. Wearing a black sequin jacket, white trousers and black heels with a Mohawk hairstyle, Lisa was every bit the epitome of a strong, independent woman. When she stripped down to her vest top she revealed a slender, toned figure of which most 20 year olds would be jealous – and she’s 52!
Throughout the performance Lisa showcased songs from her recently released, eighth studio album Deeper. Highlights included the funky ‘Butterflies’ and ‘Never Ever’, as well as ballad ‘Hole in my Heart’ which gave Stansfield a chance to show off her powerful but perfectly controlled vocal.
We were also treated to an extensive trip through Lisa’s back catalogue with hits such as ‘The Real Thing’, ‘What Did I Do To You’ and ‘All Woman’. Of course no Stansfield concert would be complete without classic single ‘All Around The World’ before which Lisa cried: ‘It’s show time now everyone’!
Whilst Lisa’s backing band were never formally introduced, they were tight throughout the performance. There were some epic moments worth a mention such as the fabulous saxophone solos on ‘Butterflies’ and ‘Ghetto Heaven’, and the trumpet solo on ‘Never Ever’.
Visually, Lisa combined a mix of old and new with nine static orange lights, one behind each band member, as well as a huge digital light display which was interspersed with clips from her single videos.
This was my first time seeing Stansfield and I expected my highlights to be from her big hits, but that wasn’t the case. My personal highlights were ‘Hercules’ from current album Deeper which has a country/rock influence and which she finished by saying: ‘Just remember that when you’re not quite feeling up to par’. I also really enjoyed the four-part harmonies on an acoustic performance of ‘So Natural’.
The show finished with an encore combining ‘Live Together’ from 1989 album Affection, and ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ originally by Candi Staton. Lisa came back to the stage in an elaborate black fur jacket which had connotations of birds soaring – perfect for ‘Young Hearts Run Free’.
Set List
- Intro (backing band)
- Everything
- Deeper
- Never never gonna give you up
- Hercules
- Hole in my heart
- The real thing
- Change
- So natural (Acoustic)
- All woman
- Real love
- Butterflies
- Never ever
- People hold on
- Billionaire
- Soul deep
- All around the world
- What did I do to you
- Ghetto heaven
………………………
- Live together/ Young hearts run free
Reviewer: Chrissie Duxson
Photographer: Stephanie Colledge