Lenny Kravitz Over Delivers At The Roundhouse
Published
Lenny Kravitz is arguably one of the biggest names to play at the iTunes Festival this year, and while there was a good reaction for the support act Wolf Alice, it wasn’t until the imminent arrival of Mr Kravitz that the Roundhouse really started to buzz.
As the lights went out, the crowd joined in with a countdown on the screens to bring the star to the stage. It didn’t take long for the band to get in to the hits, and after opening track “Dirty White Boots” they launched in to two of his biggest hits back to back with “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over” and “American Woman”.
Kravitz revealed that this was the first time the band had played together live, but they sounded tight and displayed a strong chemistry throughout the set.
With the crowd suitably pumped up after such a strong intro, the majority of the remainder of the set consisted of lesser known tracks and cuts from his latest album “Strut”. Kravitz, the definition of a classic rock star, had little trouble keeping the crowd entertained, inviting sing-a-longs and marching around the stage (and even taking the opportunity to venture through the crowd at one point) with all the confidence you would expect of the international superstar.
This being a Lenny Kravitz show, it involved more than your fair share of solos, with several songs seeming to go on for minutes longer than was necessary. It wasn’t just limited to guitar solos (although there were plenty of those), but they also managed to throw in saxophone solos, and bizarrely, a four-minute flute solo, which wouldn’t have been out of place at a Jethro Tull concert.
It was revealed later that the show overran by half an hour, and with some songs being dragged out to almost double their length, it was hardly surprising.
Despite the slight lull in the middle, a closing treble of “Are You Gonna Go My Way”, latest single “The Chamber” and the timeless “Fly Away” left me, and I’ve no doubt the rest of the crowd, going home very happy.
Written by Spike Godding
Phtographs from iTunes Festival 2014
