Love was certainly in the air as Paolo Nutini burst onto the stage at The Palais to the funky sounds of Scream (Funk My Life Up),the lead single from his new album, Caustic Love. The crowd was on board with Nutini from the opening number, and didn’t wane in energy or admiration throughout. Accompanied by his high-energy eight-piece band and backing singer, Nutini started out with a few of his sexier soul-funk numbers Let Me Down Easy and Coming Up Easy. It didn’t take long for everybody to get up out of their red leather seats (not an easy feat, those chairs are comfortable). Nutini’s voice is flawless, and has effortlessly made the transition from his earlier folk/pop-rock roots to his newer funk-soul sound. He dealt with his best-known hits Jenny Don’t Be Hasty and New Shoes in a combined one-two punch mid way through the set. Jenny Don’t Be Hasty was almost obscured by a rock cover that lacked most of the original melody, but this didn’t seem to bother the crowd too much. Nutini seemed far more present during the raw and impassioned performance of new single Iron Sky.
While his vocal ability could more than keep up with the change in genres, his performance felt uneven at times. On stage, Nutini seems far older than his 27 years, partly because his music and singing style draws from funk-soul veterans like Charles Bradley, Otis Redding and even a bit of D’Angelo. It’s also because his performance sometimes erred on being cheesy, when he could’ve let his romantic songs bring the love factor for him. His encore set included a funk flavoured cover of MGMT’s Time to Pretend and bluesy crowd favourite Candy. The final highlight was the ballad Last Request, which Nutini played stripped back under a spotlight with an acoustic guitar, showcasing his soaring vocals.
Paolo Nutini is exactly the kind of musician you would want to bring home to meet your mum, and although his music is heavy on the romance, it’s the kind of romance your mum could get behind: not too sexy and not too subtle. About half way through the show, Nutini paused to dedicate a song to a special lady in his life, his mother. You could just about hear the ladies (and a few gents) in the audience mass swooning. He knew his audience, and he was there to show them a good time.
BY MIA ABRAHAMS
Photo by Maddison Pitt
Loved: That voice.
Hated: The two women behind me saying “He is sooo cute” every ten minutes.
Drank: Nothing – no drinks allowed inside the Palais.
