KT Tunstall @ Symphony Hall, Birmingham – Wednesday 13th November 2013
KT Tunstall seems to have made a conscious decision of late to veer down her own path and ignore, perhaps, what people are expecting of her. Her latest album, Invisible Empire, is a far more stripped back album with no big radio-friendly singles and is, dare I say it, all the better for it. Tonight she plays plenty of songs from the album. Every one sounds sublime.
Before all that though we’re treated to an unexpectedly captivating set from the charismatic Billy Lockett who, when he’s not reminding us of his name, easily wins over those who’ve bothered to take their seats with a little cheeky banter and some well rounded acoustic songs. Love Hurts, he informs us, is about his Dad and it’s soon apparent that Mr Lockett is not afraid to get disarmingly personal with his lyrical content. Another song has just been Single Of the Week on Radio 1 and is currently sitting at the No.16 spot on iTunes. Impressive stats for a crowd who I suspect may be hearing his name for the first time tonight. He finishes with a cover of The Lumineers’ Ho Hey before leaving to some well earned applause. But not before telling us his name one last time. It’s Billy Lockett.
For many of us KT Tunstall first appeared on our radar almost a decade ago with a truly standout performance on Later… With Jools Holland. Just a girl, a guitar and a loops peddle which allowed her to add layer on layer for Black Horse & The Cherry Tree. That simple yet brilliant approach is one which allows her to make a solo performance quite magical and never one dimensional. It doesn’t harm her at all that she has an endearing way of charming her audience with stories and chit chat before stopping you in your tracks as she jumps behind a piano and pours her heart out on the beautiful Yellow Flower.
And then, just when you think you know roughly what to expect, a stunning cover of Atoms For Peace’s Default catches you by surprise and proves that KT Tunstall will never become just another singer songwriter with a formula set in stone. As if to prove the point, today also happens to be the day she publishes her first book of poetry. It’s on sale at the merch stand.
The aforementioned Black Horse & The Cherry Tree coaxes out the first real singalong of the evening before segwaying into The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army . An encore of Crescent Moon and the soaring Suddenly I See make sure nobody goes home disappointed. The loop pedal gets one final airing for Chimes and KT thanks the crowd before leaving the stage with a huge cheeky smile.
These reviews are supposed to be as balanced as possible so I should be looking for something to criticise in amongst all the praise. Nope…. I’m drawing a blank.
Review & photographs by Steve Gerrard