This gig was the third of four in Lianne La Havas’ residency at the Social. Crowds have gathered on consecutive Tuesdays to hear and see Lianne’s soulful set and infectious bubbly personality. All the gigs instantly sold out, naturally – the venue is tiny and her reputation, well increasingly huge…
She’s destined to become one of 2012’s hottest acts and the London crowd seemed delighted to be getting the chance to see her. I went along with my cousin, we squeezed past the excited groupies right to the front and stationed ourselves a few metres away from Lianne for the whole gig. Before the leading lady took to the stage, we were treated to a short support set from Selah Sue, a young singer from Belgium. Selah’s sound is wacky and invigorating, soulful with a twist of funky reggae, I absolutely loved it (and once home went straight to Amazon to buy her album).
The crowd buzzed in anticipation waiting for our young London starlet to appear. Rather than emerging from backstage she walked casually through the crowd pausing to stop and tell me how nervous she was, I replied “well we are VERY excited, it will be great” and with that she bounded onto the stage with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. Lianne’s set was based loosely around the break up with a boyfriend, every song seems to express a different emotion, all the painful stages of the separation… luckily for us, this trauma translated beautifully into music with memorable melodies, affecting rhythms and genuine lyrics.
Her voice is rich and she sings her lilting tunes with a seamless ease, excelling equally across her range and managing to sing at all dynamics, belting loud or whispering softly with a breathtaking poignancy. Her tiny band seemed less committed, they sounded great, but the pianist looked completely dazed and the drummer shy and quiet tucked away in the corner of the stage; Lianne tried to involve them but she shone out brightly against their duller presence. She is, by the way, stunning in the flesh, a bundle of hair tied on her head and a tartan little skirt bobbing round her hips.
I recognised several of the songs, ‘Forget’ is instantly recognisable thanks to the punchy melody and Lianne sings it with serious attitude. ‘Au Cinema’ marks a different kind of sound, jazzy and more relaxed, my cousin’s favourite of the night. ‘No Room For Doubt’ is the song she recorded as a duet with Willy Mason, and though I prefer it as a duet it is just as moving sung alone by Lianne. Unusually, her voice is just as accurate live as on disc and even more vibrant… she is certainly a talent to watch out for. ‘Age’ is my absolutely favourite song, the touching number she sang on Jools Holland not long ago, and with which she finished this gig. The song tells of Lianne’s love of an older man, and though many consider it inappropriate, she stresses the positives of this relationship in her life. She also sung a gorgeous rendition of Jill Scott’s ‘He Loves Me’
Lianne La Havas is awesome, with a sunny attitude and wide grin, it is impossible not to like her. My only criticism: she apologised and thanked us too much, sure a humble musician is better than a diva anyday, but with the success she so deservedly is receiving, this girl can start acting like the star she is destined to become.
Visit Lianne’s website here, or follow her on twitter @liannelahavas for more information.