Robbie Boyd – Bush Hall, London 03-07-2013
I raise my hand and I admit my flair for songwriters, it happens if your mum and dad were raised in the 60s and 70s. My mother used to sing to me a heartbreaking love song as a lullaby which kind of scarred me for life, but hey the lyrics were pure poetry. Robbie Boyd has a very similar background, inspired by the classic of rock and folk music like Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and The Beatles, he started busking till he managed to get on important stage as 2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Hyde Park, Bestival and and the Wilderness Festival.
Yesterday night he was at the Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush, a full house waiting for his performance. The front row was filled with children, teenagers with braces, middle-aged people and seniors. Elements of his success a danceable fusion of pop-jazz with hints of rock and blues and his beautifully crafted lyrics, able to create an atmosphere that wraps the listener into an imaginary world.
The band opened with ‘Before It Falls apart’ a rhythmic country ballad that coalesced together percussions, double bass and a clear and clean female choir in the background that accompanied and exalted the male voice. The real treat of the performance was ‘Amsterdam’ a song that started as a slow and nostalgic tune, the instruments and the voice alternated and they are both protagonists and predominant. The music slowly grew till it got to its highest peak and exploded with all the elements of the band joining in. The singer surprised his affectionate fans coming off of stage for an unplugged version of ‘I Won’t Let You Go’. Robbie, Adam, Mared and Mike sung the lyrics accompanied only by Robbie’s guitar, one of those intimate, precious moment that, fans will cherish for life and, thinking back, they will be able to say ‘I was there’.
The performance was closed by ‘Something Different’; the band went completely ballistic jumping and dancing on the stage following the rhythm of the song, possessed by the melody and by the incredible atmosphere they created and breathed with their fans. 7/10
Monica Guerrasio