Therefore, I nary batted an eyelid at the slightly outrageous ticket price for his first official gig here in Singapore, that which costs close to $200 for front-row seats. Mind you, it is the most expensive concert ticket for me for a single artiste yet. But hey, y'all know that saying, 'You can't (really) put a price on art...'
Gig run-downs:
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Following a quick minute’s long of instrumental introduction
by his touring band, James Morrison walked onstage with a brief wave and
took his position at the mic stand in the center. He then flashed a nervous grin and
was like, ‘Alright people, let’s do this!’ .
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He started off his set to a determinedly cheery
showing with Beautiful Life, a song off his latest The Awakening album. I didn’t think it strange then (probably because
I’d expected it, having looked through online the setlist for his previous show
in Indonesia) but looking back, it seems a tad odd to choose it as an opener.
Normally, artistes would choose an oft-played single for their first song of
the night (or at least, an insanely catchy earworm from their latest album), to get the
crowd pumped and all.
Well, Mr Morrison got the crowd amped a tiny notch. The fact that he launched into This Boy (still not a single, and this time, a song taken from his debut album from ages ago) did not help to up the crowd’s anticipation level, and whose reaction at that point was – to politely make teeny head-nodding movements.
Well, Mr Morrison got the crowd amped a tiny notch. The fact that he launched into This Boy (still not a single, and this time, a song taken from his debut album from ages ago) did not help to up the crowd’s anticipation level, and whose reaction at that point was – to politely make teeny head-nodding movements.
-
Me? Don’t mind me, but I’m simply a JM girl and was
in a goopy place, where I was literally just lying back in my cushy chair, and
being all ‘in the zone’. Haha.
-
The songs which followed for the first half of
his set were his career-defining, impassioned ballads like (in setlist playing order)
I Won’t Let You Go- I presently heart this song more than ever, what with Jason Mraz’s
spring hit I Won’t Give Up seeping into our consciousness this year, Up- where
James did duet this time (which he mistakenly chose not to at the MTV gig) with his worthy diva-licious
of a backup vocalist, and Broken Strings- where he did not drastically change
keys (like he did for the MTV Sessions) during the Nelly Furtado parts and
which he performed very divinely unplugged at our acoustic-friendly Esplanade that
night. Once James got those ‘impress-the-hearts-out of my mostly virgin audience in this posh
venue’ segment out of the way, he was ready to PAR-TAY.
^As you can see from the video above, it seemed like James couldn’t wait to put the moves on us after he finished his Most Sensitive Song of The Night, by declaring, ‘ok, no more of this laziness, I want you people to get (yo heavy bums) off your seats.’ *cue folks squealing and springing to their feet* :D
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Morrison then shook off his hindering acoustic guitar
for songs like Slave To The Music- I do reckon a jolly fun ‘live’ song to hear
and sing back along to, and which James was thrusting his pelvis to while
belting into his mic (can he help it, with the MJ-like ‘Whoo Hoos’ in there?),
I’m A Man- where the music vibe of the gig suddenly got into a weird place oweing
to the loudness and gaudy macho feel of this Spencer Davis Group cover. But
all in good fun though. This was when James kept running all over the stage and
sliding on his knees and acting all rock-starish. I love James, don’t get me
wrong, but I found it just that bit bizarre, because, James had on
long cottony snuggly sleeves, and casual skater kicks that night (unlike at his MTV gig where he was decked out in heavy, stylish denim)- attire more suited for, i dont't know, a chilled night out playing pool??
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This was also when, major grouse here, the sound
kept getting worse and worse. I couldn’t hear the instruments properly on the
speakers anymore and the drums became really ‘bare’ and stinkingly overpowering
(like the raw-ness of when a band is jamming in the studios). Needless to say,
James' voice was kinda drowned out by the band and this continued till the end
of the night. It felt like I was suddenly transported to a pub or something. This
unfortunate sound problem may actually be due to my location of being front-row
because when I watched videos of people who were on the floors on top, the sound
seemed to sound like how it should- resounding and musically proper. However, I’ve
also been told that when too many instruments come on, the sounds do get
distorted at the esplanade. This sound phenomenon explanation probably rings true because when I was at the Ingrid Michaelson unplugged gig at this same Esplanade venue 3 weeks ago, the music and vocals were in a word, heavenly.
This fugly sound effect reminds me of when I was at the Kris Allen gig too, a couple of years ago (and which I will upload vids on my Youtube channel again when I have the time), where the sound was pretty darn bad-ffling as well, but the audience then rationalised because he was merely playing at a night club (Zirca).
This fugly sound effect reminds me of when I was at the Kris Allen gig too, a couple of years ago (and which I will upload vids on my Youtube channel again when I have the time), where the sound was pretty darn bad-ffling as well, but the audience then rationalised because he was merely playing at a night club (Zirca).
Concert verdict:
Wellll, I guess you can’t fault a
performer who’s such a crowd pleaser. And one thing I commend about performers
like James Morrison, he genuinely looked like he was ardently having the time of his
life the entire time. Heck, he even did the classic ‘soccer victory match’
gesture while exiting off the stage after his encore, by, lifting his shirt and
pulling it over his face, while doing the rocker pose like so:
The concert length was ok, running slightly
more than an hour and a half. However, it felt like James was trying really
hard to affect the audience (probably because the seats are situated so near
the stage and it was a packed house), and in the process, he didn’t (or could
have forgotten?) to banter with the audience, which numbered roughly 1,500 in total that Tuesday night.
It would have been nice, if the setlist
had included more of his older songs. I know this is called The Awakening Tour in
support of his latest album, but, it’s his first official show in this part of
our shores, and, it’s probably safe to say that many in the audience are fans,
you know? Also, half the songs on his setlist were the same as his MTV Sessions
recording, so can you blame this girl if she expected more variance?
All in all, a very well-oiled and put together band (many of
whom have played for James Morrison for years). Till the next tour, mates!
PS: Thinking of covering one of James' hits this week. Check back soon for update, if any. ;)
PS: Thinking of covering one of James' hits this week. Check back soon for update, if any. ;)
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