When heading to the Warwick Arts Centre last night to see KT Tunstall, there were three main thoughts on my mind. The first was about the first & last time I was at that venue, which was a few years ago to see David Gray. The second was about the gig I was attending that night and how I was very happy to finally be at a KT Tunstall show - there have been a whole series of reasons for why I haven't been able to see her live. When KT was announced for Victorious Festival - a festival in my hometown, which I won't be at because I'll be in Copenhagen - I decided to do what I could to get to one of the dates on her headline tour. The final thought was about the horrific bombing in Manchester. I didn't go into the venue scared it might happen again but I couldn't help but think of the people that went to see Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena with the same intent as me at this gig - to have a good time - and never came home (not forgetting those who died collecting children at the show). By continuing to go to gigs, and most public gatherings, we show that we will not be broken by acts of terror and that love will triumph over hate.
Onto the gig, and the opening act was Nina Nesbitt. She was really good. Seeing her live definitely made me want to go and check out more of her songs. Predominantly, you will tend to find me at rock gigs and occasionally, when a support act tries to get the crowd to join in, it can end up being a bit awkward when no-one does. The worst example I can recall of this was a support band for Motörhead who tried to get the crowd to clap along to a song and if memory serves, not a single person clapped. Anyway, that wasn't the case for Nina as the crowd joined in when requested for a singalong which was good. I really enjoyed this set.
KT Tunstall came on not long afterwards and was excellent. I had wondered if it would be KT with a live band or on her own. It was KT accompanied by an electronic band so to speak (Pete, Hans and Wee Bastard). Occasionally there were little issues with the band which with lesser performers could have derailed the set. However, KT took it in her stride and, perhaps most importantly, made the issues that occurred funny (#prayforpete). How often at a gig does William the Conquerer show up to play trombone? (That might classify as a "you had to be there" moment).
For me, the set list was nearly perfect. I like a lot of KT's material but there are 6 stand out favourites of mine and 5 of those were played which is ace (Still A Weirdo, Other Side Of The World, Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, Hold On and Suddenly I See). There were a couple of occasions when other artists songs were incorporated in some of these songs - Seven Nation Army and Walk Like An Egyptian - which was great. KT, as part of the "KT's Covers Challenge" covered The Undertones - Teenage Kicks which was really good (and indicative of how good a live performer she is as she was told by her guitar tech Tristan she'd gone to play the song too early in the set - proving her show can be flexible as opposed to a rigid set as you would more commonly see).
All in, this was a superb night out. I'd been waiting many a year to see KT Tunstall live and she did not disappoint. I will now hope it doesn't take me as long to go and see her again.
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