Katie Melua at Colston Hall in Bristol - Live Music Review
Posted on: 2016-11-25
Our rating:
"We were thoroughly enticed as she sang her thought provoking song 'Dreams on Fire' before she and the all female native Georgian choir went on to perform an amazing piece of music that was composed in 1915."
The elegant and immensely talented Katie Melua graced the Colston Hall in Bristol's stage last night with her latest tour and despite two power cuts in her first set, she remained professional and entertaining throughout.
Starting at 8pm, you just knew this gig was going to be a treat for the eyes, ears and soul when Katie came on stage, accompanied by the fantastic Gori Women's Choir. Georgian-born Katie is instantly likeable and there is not one diva bone in her body, despite the fact that she is a worldwide star who has recently released her 7th album called 'In Winter'.
After delighting the sold out crowd with some of her latest work, Katie (who's real name is Ketevan) told us in that instantly recognisable soft tone of hers that she last played at this venue many years ago and it was a real treat to be back.
She then went on to explain that she got to spend time with her grandparents when she made 'In Winter' back home in Georgia. Whilst with them she saw some old video footage of her and her brother playing in an abandoned airfield when they were kids. But then at that point, as she was just getting into her story, there was some kind of power cut after just twenty minutes into the show.
The sound went off, we couldn't hear anything and then the lights came on.
This is literally a performer's worst nightmare, but Katie didn't show one ounce of stress. She calmly dealt with the situation by shouting out to us all and making us laugh before she then left the stage as the choir stepped up to the plate and sang an amazing African number which had everyone clapping along.
About 10 minutes later, a massive applause erupted throughout the patient crowd as Katie could be successfully heard loud and clear when she said "one, two" into her mic.
So then we went back to the story that had been rudely interrupted by technical mayhem and she told us that the next song was about her memories of a childhood when she and her brother would be near the old planes on those derelict grounds.
But just after this song, another power cut happened and Katie shouted out as loud as she could that there would be an early interval so the issue could be sorted.
When she came back on stage in the second set, Katie informed us she had been told there had been a problem with Bristol in general and a power surge in the city caused the issues. But no one minded, Katie was back and the rest of the night went off without a hitch. We were thoroughly enticed as she sang her thought provoking song 'Dreams on Fire' before she and the all female native Georgian choir went on to perform an amazing piece of music that was composed in 1915.
This is where we then got some alone time with the sweetheart that is Katie Melua. The choir left the stage and 'Crawling up a Hill' was unleashed.
One of the things that really appeals to me about Katie is the fact that you feel like you really get to know her during her gigs. When she tells you stories about her life, you feel like it really comes from the heart. As she told the audience about when she moved over to Ireland for five years before going to Surrey you could have heard a pin drop it was that silent. Everyone was sucked in and engaged and in return we had her full attention. Katie said that at 17 years old, she wanted to write about her time in Northern Ireland and then we heard 'Belfast.'
After we were introduced to her two very loyal and long serving musicians, Tim and Mark, we then heard the wonderful 'Call off the Search' which was the first song she recorded with them and was the title track from her debut album in 2003. After hearing this live, it's obvious why her first album reached the top of the UK album charts and sold 1.8 million copies in its first five months of release.
It was also magical to hear a couple of cover versions during the night as an astoundingly emotional version of 'Bridge over Troubled Water' was performed before Katie inflicted her own unique style on 'Wonderful Life'.
As the choir came back on the stage, a couple of Katie's well known tracks were then played - 'Nine Million Bicycles' and 'The Closest thing to Crazy'.
So as the night came to an inevitable end, having over run due to earlier disruptions, Katie told us that she felt we had all got acquainted quite well now so she was going to perform two more songs straight away rather than do the usual showbiz dance of going off stage and then coming back on for the encore.
Just before she sang her final heart-wrenching song called 'I cried for you', which had me emotional as well as many people around me, she told us: "Thank you again for all your patience and being a wonderful audience. I couldn't have asked for a better crowd."
Well Katie, the feeling is mutual but don't leave it so long next time - come back to Bristol very soon.
5/5
Article by:
Kelly worked as a journalist for the BBC for 12 years before she changed careers and went into the field of marketing. Having worked at BBC 6 Music for several years, she is passionate about many different genres of sound. Her other interests include theatre, comedy, books, food and days out with the family (she has a young daughter who she describes as a "whirlwind of fun.") Kelly is married to Vik who is a true Bristolian to the core! She is also studying nutritional therapy.
