James Morrison Recieves Standing Ovation In St David's Hall
People slowly began to filter into the exquisite St Davids Hall auditorium, some travelling great distances to enjoy the soul-swinging efforts of James Morrison.
Eva Stone and her guitarist/pianist/co-writer Jordan Miller were the opening act to the evening’s festivities. The first few notes sung however, were more than enough to grasp the spectator’s attention, as well as raise a few neck hairs. With tremendous control over her hypnotic voice and the incredible range she possessed, she exuded a level of class and talent that was unexpected of a support act.
Although a little nervous when chatting to the audience, she eventually found her confidence but could not conceal her evident modesty. It would be effortless to imagine Miss Stone taking pride of place as a main act in a 1940’s club, wearing a long sequined dress, singing her track “25 Years” with a grand piano accompanying her in the corner, but it would seem the audience were fortunate enough to share the generation Eva Stone graced Cardiff with her presence.
After a short interval, James Morrison and his entourage entered the stage, with three backing vocalists and a full band (including piano and synth) ready to satisfy the wolf whistling throng of applauding fans. Before launching into his material, he bellows out to the crowd, “It’s fucking good to be back”, relinquishing them of any self-control they had previously managed to sustain.
Mr Morrison, throughout the entire concert, was the very definition of a real entertainer and a true artist within his field. Extracts from his new album, ‘Higher than here’, and his beautiful back-catalogue were almost as mesmerising as the bizarre mood changes of the venue, which were practically bi-polar in their extremity.
Tracks like “Easy love”, “Broken strings” and his new hit single “I got demons”, gathered the adrenaline-filled energy of an arena show. Whereas, songs such as “Something right”, “I won’t let you go” and his well known melancholic “Wonderful world”, had a sea of hands swaying left to right, with heads on shoulders and hands clasped together.
The connection between the English composer and his fellow musicians were also a crucial component in the success of the night. With angelic harmonisations and an almost identical album to live act comparison, there was little to no fault in technique to shake a finger at.
Ending the evening with “You give me something” and “Higher than here”, the reverberating notes falling into silence, ignited a simultaneous standing ovation and a steady swell of people making their way forward to shake his hand.
It is a fair assessment to suggest that this man is sincerely loved by his fans and truly treasures their affection and support in return.
