Trying hard to contain my excitement as we make our way to down SWG3 to catch Vanessa Carlton’s relatively early set, we arrive a couple minutes late due to having to take a slight detour on the way to the venue…
Upon our arrival we are met by complete shock as we just make out the familiar sound of a piano playing upstairs.
In complete dismay about missing the opportunity to see the majority of ‘A Thousand Miles’ live we rush upstairs only to met by a slightly disappointing scene.
In my head I built up this moment up to be similar to when a classic tune comes on in a club after you’ve had a couple of drinks and you, your pals and everyone around you can’t help but belt out every word.
In reality the room isn’t very busy, a handful of people sit quietly on the chairs that have been placed out in front of the stage and as we catch the song’s final chorus nobody sings along.
Nevertheless considering Carlton was an idol of mine growing up in the 2000s I am still ecstatic to see a couple of my other favourites live, only to be again slightly disappointed upon discovering that her next two tracks would be taken from an album never released in the UK and the remainder of her set a live performance of latest album, Liberman, in full.
Despite not being the set I expected my mood soon picks up as Carlton begins showcasing a number of impressively raw tracks that utilise her honeysuckle voice and piano licks in a totally new fashion.
Between tracks Carlton shares stories of her past and current life from her dog to the things she has learnt since her last album.
The album named after Carlton’s grandfather (one of whose paintings of nudes currently hangs behind her on stage and served as an inspiration during the song-writing) is much quirkier than her previous releases and conveys a message full of aging wisdom.
However playing the album in full means that standout track ‘Willows’ with its dramatic piano melody and powerful vocals, appears too early on in the set as the later tracks even though both lovely and soothing become less memorable with Carlton’s message often disappearing into the mix.
Words: Jess Lavin
Photos: Stewart Fullerton
