Venue:
Theatre Warwick Arts Centre, Warwick University
Date: 23/02/2015
I was offered the ticket by a friend who had been let down. Thank goodness I accepted! Rumer has a truly wonderful voice. Maybe she could be accused of not taking chances, because her phrasing and pitch is so measured. But just when you thought the music was veering too far into MOR territory, something soulful would come along or a rhythm would change and give it a kick. The show leaned heavily on her recent album “Into Colour” leavened with a Hall/Oates song she sang on “Daryll’s House” and variety of others including ‘Blackbird’. The six-piece backing band was sympathetic and thoroughly smooth and professional – unfair to pick one out, but the (frighteningly young-looking) drummer had as good a touch as I have heard in a long time. A perfect night – to try and fault it would be churlish.
The audience:
Oldish in the main (and I mean old), a Radio 2 crowd, I suspect. One or two eccentrically dressed coves and the odd pony-tailed middle-aged man with a younger girlfriend.
It made me think..
Why isn’t Rumer playing bigger venues – she deserves to be heard, but is probably not fashionable or edgy enough, although the sweetness of the tunes counterbalances the sadness/darkness of many of the lyrics. Karen Carpenter comparisons are valid for the timbre of her voice, but she is a talent in her own right.
skylarkingmatt says
A magnificent singer- me & Mrs Skylarking saw her in November. Utterly charming
bobhumphrey01 says
Saw her at the Barbican on Tuesday. Of course it wasn’t edgy or experimental, or even particularly loud, but with a voice like hers singing quality songs, played by quality musicians in a venue with great acoustics what else do you need? She even had the good sense to only play one song from her rather disappointing second album.
She ended with a great version of the Todd Rundgren classic “Love Is The Reason”, which was worth the ticket price alone.
I actually think she shouldn’t do bigger venues, as the intimate nature of her songs work better for me in a smaller venue, but that’s just me being selfish.
Kaisfatdad says
Thanks to your review, Badlands, I went out and saw here gig here in Stockholm last night. Very glad I did.
I really loved that first album but was a bit underawed by the second so I couldn’t make my mind up whether to go or not. You tipped the balance.
I was not disappointed. The moment she started singing I was spellbound. Even had a chat with her afterwards.
This cover was great.