Counting Crows, Birmingham NIA, 13/05/09

Let me just start by saying that if you ever get the chance to see Counting Crows live, no matter what the cost, do it. Anybody reading this hoping to see me write that it was ‘more like counting sheep’ will be disappointed.

The NIA is, surprisingly, sparsely populated. There are hundreds of empty seats and the amount of space allocated for standing has been grossly over-estimated by the organisers. However, every band playing this evening makes the best of a bad situation. I just wish that this was a smaller venue; the atmosphere would have been even better than it is tonight.

First support act of the night Blind Pilot are a contemporary folk four-piece from America, playing in the UK for the first time. Along with the typical vocals/guitar/drums combination they use a variety of instruments, including a double-bass, ukulele and banjo, which all lend something to their beautiful sound. It’s been a long time since I have seen a support act I would pay money to see but here they are – Blind Pilot are gorgeous. Soft vocals are complemented by subtle harmonies and, at times, almost tribal drums. There is no doubt that when I get home I will buy their album. In the words of a friend of mine, “they sound like the Shins, just not as boring.” I wish I could write more about them and hope they come back to England so that I get the chance. Have a listen to their song ‘One Red Thread’ and you’ll see what I mean.

Next up are The Hold Steady. A little better known than Blind Pilot, their performance sees several people jumping around and singing along. The five-piece are probably best described as a heavier, rockier version of Bob Dylan, with every song telling a story and the vocals more like poetry than singing. Beyond this, The Hold Steady can only be described as very odd. Lead singer Craig Finn has a distinctly punk style, wearing his guitar low and at one point spitting on the stage. This is stark contrast to keyboard player Franz Nicolay, sporting a white suit, drinking wine from the bottle and dancing more like he’s rocking around the clock. Although the music isn’t really my thing some of the lyrics are great and the energy given off by the band is infectious. It’s so good to see a band enjoying their music and you can tell every member really believes in what they’re doing.

Counting Crows take to the stage at just past 9pm to euphoric applause. Everyone in the venue is anxious to see the band after their six year hiatus – a break in no small part due to lead vocalist Adam Duritz’s much-publicised mental health problems. Any issues are certainly not on show tonight, though, as dreadlocked Duritz leads a performance master-class.

Duritz’s voice is absolutely beautiful live – some might even say better than it is on CD. Such emotion fills every lyric he sings and tonight he is clearly enjoying himself. He has self-confessed in the past that he only really feels himself when he’s singing and it shows. He gestures to the crowd with every verse and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody truly feel music like he does. It’s hard to tell if he’s sober, with the front-man joking that he is ‘so stoned’, although his questionable state is of no detriment to his awe-inspiring routine. Duritz prides himself on the fact that he never sings a song the same way twice and this is one of the best things about the show; alternative renditions of ‘Rain King’ and ‘A Long December’ are particularly stunning, with large sections of what appears to be completely improvised material.

Aside from the music, Duritz also has some great banter with the crowd. One such skit involves the talismanic vocalist poking fun at people requesting songs: “we’re gonna take requests tonight…but only because that guy just requested the exact song we’re about to play.”

As for the six remaining members of the band, you can tell they’ve been doing this for years. This whole thing is completely effortless for them. That’s not to say they don’t enjoy it; the guitarists are standing on speakers and milking the crowd at every opportunity. They are as tight as humanly possible and mix things up with the presence of an accordion and, in some songs, what looks like a lute.

The backdrop is smothered in tiny LEDs which give the illusion of a starry night sky behind the band. The lights flow from blue and green to purple and back again, changing accordingly with the mood of each song.

Towards the end of the set Duritz’s microphone starts cutting out and has to be replaced several times. Far from throwing him off, his composure is such that he somehow manages to work these changes into the song, providing further assurance that he is one of the most gifted and confident singers in the business.

Counting Crows throw in some stunning tracks including the likes of ‘Colorblind’ and ‘Washington Square’ to bring the tone down a notch, before launching into songs such as ‘Hard Candy’ and ‘Come Around’ to get everyone on their feet and dancing. There are a few classics that are missed out of the set but I can still only describe the gig as nothing short of absolutely perfect. I have been privileged enough to have been to a lot of shows in my short life and this might just have surpassed them all. There is no way that anybody in the NIA tonight can have a frown on their face and Duritz leaves the stage with words thousands will be delighted to hear: “we will be back.”

Setlist

Hard Candy
Mrs Potter’s Lullaby
New Frontier
Rain King
Colorblind
Omaha
Richard Manuel Is Dead
Mr Jones
On Almost Any Sunday Morning
Children in Bloom
Black and Blue
Daylight Fading
Miami
Washington Square
Hangingaround

Encore
A Long December
Come Around

Originally Published by Birmingham Live! Here

Kenny Rogers, Birmingham NIA, 28/03/09

I’ll be honest; prior to this gig I had very little knowledge of Kenny Rogers and his music. All I knew was that he was a massively famous country music singer and song-writer. I’d heard a couple of his songs but think my lack of knowledge is mainly down to my age. A quick search of the ever-unreliable Wikipedia tells me he is not just a singer but a photographer, record producer, actor and entrepreneur. He has also had over 70 hit singles across different genres in his career. I know from personal experience that he has collaborated with the likes of Dolly Parton and Wyclef Jean, of all people. With this in mind, I head out to the NIA in anticipation of seeing something special.

The gig is not scheduled to start until 8pm and there is only one support act, which sees me and several others sitting in our seats bored stiff for half an hour with only some Crowded House on the PA to keep us amused. I’ve got to hand it to them; Brum Live have done very well. I’m smack bang in the middle, just seven rows from the front. As I look around I realise that, at 20, I’m by far the youngest person I can see, bar a couple of young lads clearly dragged along by their parents.

By the time the support act start their set the venue is hardly packed and I hope it will fill a little more in the next hour. Savannah Jack is an honest, talented country band from Nashville, Tennessee. The three-piece consists of two guitarists and a lead singer, with all three contributing to some absolutely spot on vocal harmonies. Tonight will see me find a new respect and admiration for country musicians and this is no more evident than when I find myself staring, open-mouthed, at Savannah Jack’s lead guitarist mid-solo. Halfway through their set he even pulls out a fiddle and is more than competent with it. The band as a whole have some great banter with the crowd and cover songs by the Gatlin Brothers and The Eagles – with the latter really giving their harmonies a chance to shine. They also throw in the classic ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ which gets the whole audience singing along. Lead singer Don Gatlin (a cousin of the famous Brothers) has a fantastic voice. He even walks through the crowd at one point, picking out a woman to serenade. Despite only having one single release to their name, Savannah Jack have been around as song-writers for a long time and have even written for tonight’s headliner. This is a deceivingly experienced band and it shows in their live performance. I would more than recommend giving them a listen.

Kenny Rogers is a seasoned professional. There’s nothing more to it; this guy knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows every trick in the book and it shows. His huge backing band consists of three keyboards, a fiddle, two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer. The band is flawless throughout, as you’d expect from a group of musicians chosen to support one of the biggest names in the history of country music. They are all smiles for the duration of the concert and it is obvious that they love working with him.

I am immediately struck by how good Kenny looks for his age. He may be 70 years old but he walks and talks like a man at least 10 years his junior. If that wasn’t enough, when Kenny Rogers sings the years really fall off him. He has a smile on his face for the entire gig and is clearly still completely in love with his job. This is no more apparent that during ‘Through The Years’, which he sings with his eyes closed, still taken aback by the beauty of the music.

I would describe the experience as half music, half stand-up comedy. Kenny’s banter with the crowd is great; he manages to make everyone in the room laugh at every opportunity. After a few songs I realise that I am thoroughly enjoying myself tonight and am completely in awe of the figure just seven rows in front of me. The audience feel the same way too, with everybody clapping and singing along to each song.

Kenny plays some older songs such as ‘Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town’, ‘Reuben James’ and ‘Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)’ made famous by his first band ‘The First Edition’. He might not move like he did in those days but he definitely still sings with the energy and passion of old. Kenny plays a few more hits including ‘The Gambler’ and ‘Lucille’ before concluding that encores are a waste of time. He makes a joke about how everybody knows you’re coming back and he’s sorry that he won’t be doing it tonight as he doesn’t have the legs for it anymore. This gets another big laugh from the crowd and Kenny Rogers is coming off as a really funny guy.

Throughout the gig Kenny has been giving one person in the front row money. He started off giving him $10 for each hit of Kenny’s he could name. The guy reeled off about five in a row and despite already having $50 Kenny kept throwing him bills all night. The man leaves at the end of the night with $120 of Kenny Rogers’s cash. This may be a sign that money may not really matter to Kenny Rogers anymore. He is much more worried about the finer things in life, such as his wife and two young children, who he sings a touching tribute to.

Kenny finishes his set with ‘Islands In The Stream’, once reworked and brought to mainstream fame by American hip hop artist Pras Michel in his song ‘Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)’. The song has most recently been covered for comic relief by Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon from the BBC’s hit show ‘Gavin and Stacey’. Tonight, though, it is the Kenny Rogers version and he hands out tambourines to the crowd to get them involved in the last song of the night. They duly oblige, with most on their feet singing and clapping along. As I leave the NIA with a smile on my face I realise that I have been well and truly treated to a performance by one of the greatest musicians in any genre in recent times.

Originally Published by Birmingham Live! Here

Lemar, Birmingham NIA, 27/03/09

This is my first time at the NIA and I really don’t know what to expect from tonight’s gig. I haven’t been to a sit-down performance in a very long time and it makes a nice change – there’s no standing at all and I anticipate a much different atmosphere from what I’m used to. As I walk to my seat I am stunned by the number of JLS fans here tonight; it seems everywhere I look there’s a young girl in a JLS top. The lingering smell of perfume in the air suggests the audience is primarily female and this is justified by the screams when the lights go down for the first time.

First act of the night Effie looks a little lonely on stage with only a backing track to accompany her. She plays just two songs and despite having a decent voice she doesn’t really have enough time to distinguish herself from the hundreds of other Destiny’s Child wanabees. ‘Into Yellow’ actually sounds like a very strong track but with such a small set she will probably not be remembered by many in the crowd tonight.

Next up are The Score, a five-piece from Los Angeles who immediately work the crowd very well. Their genre is definitely RnB but they have something a bit different; they sound a little like Andre 3000 at times and even manage to work some Britney Spears into their set. I’m also convinced that at times the drummer is using double-bass! Their cover of The Police’s ‘Roxanne’ goes down well with the crowd and lead singer CJ’s solo dance, which includes a bizarre moonwalk on his knees, gets a decent reception. The Score could be one to watch in the future.

This is where the night starts getting really interesting; boy-band JLS, who shot to fame in the latest X-factor, are greeted by literally deafening screams from the crowd. I find myself wincing as the mass of teenage girls’ euphoria reaches fever pitch. A massive part of the crowd is clearly here for the RnB four-piece and for that reason I feel I should dedicate a sizeable portion of this review to them. JLS start with a cover of Sean Kingston’s ‘Beautiful Girls’ and I already find myself wondering if they’ve actually written many songs of their own yet. Sadly the answer is no and although their versions of Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ and Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ are solid, I find it hard to get excited by a group who are essentially just a covers band. They do play one song of their own, ‘Mary’, which gets a good reception from the crowd whilst being nothing special. JLS are good at what they do, don’t get me wrong; their vocal harmonies are spot on and their performance is well choreographed. The thing that really disappoints me is that they don’t appear to have gone anywhere since they left the X-factor. They might do well to take a leaf out of headliner Lemar’s book.

Despite not winning Fame Academy, Lemar has arguably made himself the most successful career of any reality-music-show participant ever. With three studio albums to his name and a host of hits he more than rivals the likes of Will Young and Gareth Gates. Strangely, the reception for Lemar isn’t nearly as loud as it was for JLS. Regardless, his first tour in two years has sold very well and the NIA is packed tonight.

His backing band is very impressive, with three backing singers, guitar, bass, two keyboards and two drummers. As always for big names the session musicians are excellent and Lemar points out that he wants tonight to be more about the music than himself alone – something that he achieves admirably.

An RnB gig is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before; there’s a real party atmosphere and this is no more apparent than during ‘Little Miss Heartbreaker’, which gets the whole crowd moving. Lemar has a truly great voice and you can tell it’s effortless for him. Songs like ‘Soulman’ (an Otis Redding cover) and ‘50/50’ are impossible to sit still through and I find myself nodding my head and really enjoying his performance. Hit singles ‘Dance (With U)’ and ‘If There’s Any Justice’ highlight the fact that Lemar is one of those artists that you like without knowing it. There were a few songs played tonight that I didn’t previously know were written by him and they highlight just how successful he’s made himself. Lemar is clearly enjoying himself tonight and makes a point of thanking the crowd for their fantastic support on several occasions.

After mixing in a couple of slower songs to show off his brilliant vocal range he throws in a cover of Kings of Leon’s ‘Sex On Fire’. As a massive KOL fan I am apprehensive but the cover is very good and he manages to give it an RnB twist without doing it any harm at all. Lemar finishes with and encore of his new single, ‘Weight Of The World’, and I realise that I cannot find any weak points in his performance. He was great with the audience, he enjoyed himself, his backing band was perfect and his voice was second to none. Despite the unbelievable reception for JLS, Lemar more than justifies his position at the top of the bill and I have been thoroughly entertained.

Originally Published by Birmingham Live! Here