Singer, songwriter and guitarist James Morrison, released his third studio album The Awakening last year. The Awakening tour showcases the aformentioned album of the same name which reached number 1 in the album chart. Glenn Rossington, after recently witnessing a poor show at Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton, catches the singer in Birmingham at the O2 Academy.
Performance
I cannot doubt his performance. James was full of energy and beaming smiles everywhere he looked. From the more upbeat numbers like the opening track ‘Beautiful Life’ and ‘Slave To The Music’ to the tender solo acoustic moment of ‘Broken Strings’ he put all the effort in and the vocals were spot on. This is the kind of performance you expect to see when you pay the ticket price.
Setlist
The setlist was a little bit more varied than Wolves with chops and changes here and there, but I couldn’t help but feel that this was one area he’d let himself down though. The majority of the setlist (thanks to setlist.fm) was predominantly the same, so anyone who had seen both may have been disappointed. A different opening track or a mix of ending tracks could have helped to make it more varied than before.
Crowd Interaction
The interaction was great to start with, during the first song he was addressing the audience and enticing them to join in. This continued through the evening, but with the odd exception he didn’t really deviate from this formula. This may have been because the screaming from the females, particularly down the front, was deafening and may not have been heard, but trying would have shown an effort.
Image
James was keeping it very safe tonight in jeans with a white t-shirt, topped with a leather jacket. Giving it that ‘chic’ and ‘sexy’ look, this is a man who knows what his audience want. He has a presence that radiates confidence and he knows it. Women obviously find him appealing and I get the impression men are divided, some appreciate his ‘coolness’ and others are jealous. Tonight it is fair to say he looked great and oozed the confidence.
Overall
Confident, great performance, minimal interaction and a semi-stale setlist is how I’d rate this show. It is a tough mix to comprehend and sum up as on the surface it was flawless, but as you dig deeper there were cracks and faults. I’d say it was a good show, but for me there were a few things I would have changed to make it a lot better. On the whole though, he undeniably did the job as the fans would have expected it to be.
Although only on a support tour, Rain Boy Sleep (aka Stevie Martin) had a very nice collection of tracks. Tracks such as ‘Shopping Centre Song’, ‘One After One’ and the tenderly beautiful ‘Your Face’ show the depth of his lyrics. The solo artist captured the room’s attention and had them in the palm of his hand.
Words by Glenn Rossington
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