REVIEW: KT Tunstall at Manchester's Albert Hall.

WORDS: MICK BIRCHALL PHOTOS: CAI DIXON

KT Tunstall is up there as one of Top 10 favourite artists of all time. She has a unique charm to her music and a passion that goes unmatched by most. She has a way of taking an idea and turning it into ten different, yet fully realised, ideas. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen her perform live. In fact it must have been just after the release of Invisible Empire/Crescent Moon. An outstanding album where she took a lot of her real life pain. Then turned it into something beautiful and passionate. It had hit and loved pretty much everyone. Yet, I think fans were hoping that she would return to her more pop-rock focused, happy-go-lucky music. That is precisely what’s she’s done. With her new album KIN, KT is more on point with upbeat melodies and fun sing-along choruses. The album leaps out of the speakers for me. It was going to be interesting how this was going to blend into her set. After all the last few times I’ve seen KT live, she’s been on her own. Using a lot of musical wizardry to bring her music to life. This time around she has a full band so I found this intriguing.

The Canadians took to the stage with a pretty cool setup. At first I was into it. Having looked up a few of their tunes I thought they were a little out there in their songwriting. They have this experimental electronic indie sound going for them and it works well. The haunting sound mixed with the new wave style synth and live mixing sounded great. Yet, I think I’m more a fan of the concept rather than the execution. When you take the set into account all the sound meshed. The big gripe I had with the set was that you couldn’t hear what singer, Raphaelle Standell-Preston, was saying. Don’t get me wrong the volume wasn’t the problem. I just couldn’t make out anything she was saying. I wasn’t the only one. I heard this complaint from many people. It was a problem. The only songs I knew where to match the lyrics up were the ones I had heard on Spotify recently. It was a big let down. As Raphaelle has an awesome voice that filled the Albert Hall. However, it really wasn’t clear what she was singing.

The music though, Was absolutely superb and worked very well. I am really interested to hear more from them. I would like to see them live again, maybe in a smaller environment as their core concept is pretty damn cool. I think they could be one to watch. Their songs are good and I think they work well and have a great stage presence. They might need to watch their live production though.

A mish-mash of fluorescent colours filled the Albert Hall as KT walked on to the stage. There was a ravenous applause. I think this was a great venue for her. The size of the crowd, the acoustics, the stage and lighting all made for a pretty special occasion. She opens with a couple of tunes from her second album Drastic Fantastic. ‘If Only’ was a nice way to open followed in quick succession by ‘Little Favours’. It just popped and the band sounded great. The music completely filled the hall and I got swept up in it all. It wasn’t long before KT’s signature charm came out. Bantering with the crowd. Speaking about being a musician, making music videos and hanging out at music festivals. She has such a down to earth personality. I think that’s why most fans resonate with her so well. She talks the way we talk and doesn’t make herself out to be more important than the fans. Even though she’s a global celebrity. She just keeps things so casual. Seriously, it’s like we get half a music concert and the other half is KT’s stand up routine. Which is good. If I just wanted to hear the songs, I’d play her albums. I come to a show for something more and she delivers on that. Getting the crowd involved in every aspect of the show.

Like I mentioned before, I have never seen KT with a full band before. So this was a new experience for me. Let me tell you, it made a big difference. In a good way. It gave KT more of an atmosphere and let her just have fun, more than she usually does. The band consisted of drums, bass and keyboards, with KT taking guitar duties. It made her songs sound full and more complete in general. She also had some great banter with bassist, Solomon. For me it made for a new and complete experience. I think it also gave her the opportunity to play some of her older songs like ‘Hold On’ and ‘Fade Like A Shadow’. It also gave her new songs somewhat of an identity. I couldn’t imagine KT playing songs like ‘The Healer’ or ‘Run On Home’ without a band now.

It was such a pleasure to see KT again. The singer-songwriter has given me some of my favourite gig memories. This was one more to add to the collection. She is a special and brilliant soul that shouldn't be taken for granted. Although you may not hear her in the charts as much these day. You can’t use that as a measure of her success. If you want to see how to make it as a pop artist, check out a KT Tunstall show sometime.

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