Lianne La Havas + Marques Toliver @ Birmingham Glee Club – 12th March 2012
Tonight looks like yet another coup for Birmingham’s Glee Club as a packed house gathers to see the extremely hotly tipped Lianne La Havas do her thing on the tiny Glee stage. After appearing on Jools Holland’s TV show long before any album is even released (it comes out this summer), the buzz surrounding the 22 year old singer/songwriter shows no sign of simmering down any time soon.
Support tonight comes from the ridiculously talented Marques Toliver, a man so unique in the way he performs, it’s difficult to think of comparisons. Using samplers, his trusty violin and a quite staggering voice, this one man show could perhaps be most closely likened to a quirky John Legend. He easily wins over tonight’s crowd with his quick wit and pure talent. At one point he asks the audience to click their fingers because he needs a sound like raindrops for the song. And it kinda works. He finishes his short set, stood in the centre of the room, playing a cappella. The crowd laps it up, and it’s a fair bet that many of tonight’s attendees will be popping along should he return to play a headline show some time.
Lianne La Havas is easy to like. A petite Londoner with a big smile and a voice which my friend compares to “having butter melt on your brain”, she sounds like a young Billie Holiday and sings extremely personal songs, many of which refer to her ex-boyfriend. Well, it worked ok for Adele! She started out singing backing vocals for Paloma Faith but is now a major label priority whose name appeared on the BBC’s Sound Of 2012 list.
Tonight, Lianne delivers a sublime set, showcasing songs from her forthcoming album, Is Your Love Big Enough (“not like that!” she adds). Her music brings a modern twist to a very classic soulful sound which references India Irie, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott but has seen her opening for acts as diverse as Bon Iver and, shortly, Bombay Bicycle Club. Apart from her silky smooth voice, she also knows her way around a guitar. Her fine plucking skills could put many a guitar virtuoso to shame. Despite being so personal, her tunes avoid too much sentimentality and sound fresh and lively. Au Cinema skips along lightly while the gorgeous Lost & Found truly shows off Lianne’s beautiful vocal talents.
At one point La Havas gets the whole room to sing Happy Birthday to a girl called Danielle whose boyfriend left a message on Lianne’s Facebook page. During the encore she introduces the song Gone as being about “moving on” from her failed relationship, before bringing the funk to the closing song, the title track from the album, Is Your Love Big Enough. It’s a majestic tune which makes full use of her talented backing band and leaves the performance on a high note.
2012 is all set to be a busy year for Lianne La Havas and her talents are sure to take her to all parts of the globe. Undoubtedly, wherever she plays, the audiences will fall in love with her just like they did at the Glee Club tonight.
Review & photos – Steve Gerrard