Live Review: Paolo Nutini - The 100 Club, London 16/05/2022
Paolo Nutini — that greatest of troubadours, that modern-day libertine — having exploded back into our eardrums last week with two new singles, Lose It and Through The Echoes, also announced a run of tiny shows. The legendary Leadmill in Sheffield, two nights at the Corran Halls in Oban, and four nights at the iconic 100 Club in London; the first of which we were lucky enough to grace.
With a stage featuring eleven guitars, at least eight microphones, three keyboards, two saxophones, and a big ol’ drum kit to boot, it was obvious to everyone in the room that Paolo had prepared something special. And, with such a massive name in such a tiny venue, there’s always a palpable, almost physical sense of expectation and excitement; and, more than that, a terrifying amount of pressure placed on the support. In this case, Newcastle-based musician Heidi.
Boasting a surprisingly husky and unsurprisingly great voice, we were in for a treat. Walking on stage in various monochrome patterns, she burst quickly into Pieces, the crowd gradually growing quieter... until a sudden need to cough interrupted the slow, emotional track. Coughing in a tiny, hot room of 300 or so people seems like a risky proposition even before the medical paranoia of the past few years — but, laughing self consciously, she quickly picked up from where she left off, treating us to a tremendous first song.
After a much needed drink of water, second track of the evening, Red Light, was up. The glare of red and green lights became blurs on a rain-spattered windshield in the sardonically melancholy tune, before Heidi took perch in front of a nearby keyboard for Saint and the mournful Give Me Up, which were quickly followed up with a beautiful guitar-led rendition of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game; and, as the set began to draw to a close, there were just a few left. The fantastic Comfort Me, a bluesy number that had the crowd exploding in cheers, and the soulful, stirring Peace of Our Wilderness, complete with a rousing, anthemic chorus that had everyone singing along.
Each track was matched by the appreciative audience with cheers, whoops and lashings of applause; it might have been her first show down in London but it certainly won’t be the last. Obviously, of course: she’s supporting the entire Paolo tour, with three more nights at the London venue to come! Even so, it won’t be long before a headline show of her own is on the cards.
After graciously and reluctantly leaving the stage, it meant there were just a few more minutes to go before Paolo’s first London show in over seven years, and the nervous chatter as the crowd swelled in size was evidence. With the tickets selling out in seconds, the demand ridiculously outnumbering the supply, these were the lucky few, and they knew it. And, as the members of his six-strong musical ensemble took the stage, you could hear it. But it was the swoon-inducing swagger of the Scot that did it; plus, the ridiculous number of screams and the as ridiculous a number of phones being risen as he broke into new single, Lose It, didn’t hurt. His smoky vocals, distorted though they were to sound almost akin to a radio broadcast, were as fantastic as ever; when he inevitably erupted — surprisingly similar to those iconic screams of fellow Scot Bon Scott of AC/DC — the entire room just came alive.
Second song Scream (Funk My Life Up), from 2015’s Caustic Love, was just as effortless a masterclass. With his sometimes-six-piece ensemble gradually flirting between guitar, sax, piano and beyond, from even those first seconds you know it’s going to be a ridiculously good gig. And, as he swaps to a keyboard situated in the centre of the stage, blue riffs abound behind, the entire thing just builds to a crashing crescendo. “I’ve missed you too”, uttered just after finishing, and the first words from the stage, just convey everything he wanted to say - as simple as that.
The joy was visible on the grin that split his face as he flew into the almost Hollywood-esque Americana of the first wholly new song, Petrified. But there was nothing frozen about his triumphant return; the track, reminiscent a little of Grease, enabled the star to live out some John Travolta heartthrob moments of his own, while some duelling guitar solos just showed the sheer happiness he had at being back. “I’ve got some tea”, he tells us, almost childlike, as he breaks into another new one, the slow contemplative Acid Eyes, a crooning (if slightly wounded) ballad, followed straight after by those opening, warbling notes of Let Me Down Easy, almost drowned out by the crowd’s reaction.
The nerves were there, sure. “What a place man... I haven’t had time to look around the walls, but now it’s making me really fuckin’ nervous”, he confides, nervously chuckling; but they seemed to disappear the second each piece of music started.
And what a sweet setlist of music it was. Perfectly poised between old and new — eight old songs, the two recently released singles, and eight entirely new ones merely teased about in upcoming album Last Night In The Bittersweet’s track listing — the crowd got to loudly sing along and excitedly listen along in equal measures. Radio — another melancholy ballad, swapping between heart wrenching, dispossessed and heart-raw roars — was quickly followed by 2009’s Candy; “I’ll be there waiting for you” basically an ode from the crowd to the triumphantly returning figure. And Paolo appreciated it, thanking everyone before quickly apologising:
“Thanks for singing so fuckin’ loud... Sorry, that language was unnecessary. Up in Scotland it’s basically a fuckin’ comma”. Following that up quickly with another oldie, Coming Up Easy, seemed to almost hark back to the start; taking to a stool with just an acoustic guitar in a 350~ capacity basement, he could have been anyone at an open mic: just starting on the long road to musical succour or starvation. But instead he was a festival-headlining icon; the blur was almost disorienting, echoes of the past rising up.
Speaking of echoes, the second of the recently released singles, Through The Echoes, followed hot on its heels. Backlit by pink and red, the mournfully beautiful track was incredible in the intimate space; as was fan-favourite Better Man, reverberating through the tiny room: similarly gentle and just as incredible. The switch up to the new Desperation, an upbeat, fantastically rocky song and one destined to be a sing along classic, came at the perfect time — despite being unknown, it was a perfect way to get energy back into the crowd and get them moving. Much like Pencil Full Of Lead, the track which came straight after — yet a version different to what everyone knew and loved. Gone were the trumpets and harmonicas; instead, a softly constant bass line and slightly bluesy instrumentals were the accompaniment to a much slowed down, alternate version of his classic hit. And, according to Paolo, farting about with that song was what he’d spent the past five years doing.
Finally, the moment everyone was dreading: the end. In this case, new track (and exceptional track) Everywhere. Gently building, it saw Paolo at his best: brooding and soulful croons built to an explosive crescendo that saw the night off in style.
Except obviously that wasn’t the ‘end’, just an excuse for a breather. Instead, the visceral, mostly instrumental Afterneath gave way to what’s as close to musical perfection as you can get: Iron Sky. And boy does it seem poignant with everything going on. The song about turning fear into freedom saw a spectrum of light shining over the backdrop of the stage; Chaplin’s speech from The Great Dictator, played loudly over the incredible interlude, then saw that prismatic sequence change to predominantly show blue and yellow. The colours of Ukraine shining behind Paolo’s emphatic and pained pleas — never directly referenced, but definitely there — draws a not-so-subtle comparison between the xenophobic, megalomaniacal parody that makes the speech and the current political landscape. And, at the end of it, Paolo even revealed that Spencer Chaplin was in the crowd and thanked him for letting the song exist.
At this point, just three songs remained. There was the powerful, punkish Shine a Light, with some visual accompaniments provided by a man at the sound desk gyrating a lens in front of the projector; and, after saying farewell to his band, and seeing off the end of his ‘strategically placed’ glass of red wine, it was time for the final two — the mesmerising No Other Way, another serving of Sunny Side Up, and the final Writer — let’s let Paolo explain what it’s about:
“I’m Scottish and I’m a bastard — that’s pretty much what this song is about... though not the Scottish bit”.
Absconding the stage quickly, as much to probably avoid being mobbed as it was to just get another drink, and that was that. A ridiculously good night, only topped by the announcement today (Wednesday 18th May) of a UK and EU tour in Autumn, including a night at Alexandra Palace on October 25th.
Thanks Paolo for a magnificent night — glad to have you back.
Words by James O’Sullivan
