Friday 9th October
3 stars
Scan the bar area before the support act takes the stage and it’s clear tonight is ‘date night’ and hopeful couples are betting that the soulful swoonings of Mark Ronson’s ‘artiste du jour’ will guarantee the perfect setting for a their first outing.
The young Australian vocalist takes the stage, rather too nonchalantly, but to a surprisingly welcoming swell of applause. The opener, ‘For Your Money’, a track from his top five debut album, Love and War, is a baffling choice; lacking any real attack. The droning lyric “We’ll go on and on, on and on / Like I said, on and on” makes you wonder whether it was worth the wait.
More soporific stuff follows until things start to warm up with the removal of his Ray Bans. New single ‘Impossible’ and its infectious guitar part dare you not to dance, but a Ronson production sans brass section just doesn’t feel quite right.
The audience unite in song as Merriweather delivers Smiths cover, ‘Stop Me…’ with soulful dexterity and leaves the stage, allowing his demure and charming backing singers to carry the song into the Supremes, ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’. At least they seem to care whether we’re having a good time.
November 9th, 2009 at 13:00
Honestly i totally disagree with your review. Daniel talked to the crowd throughout all the concert and it was clearly moved by the participation of all the people. The acoustic set (which you didn’t even mention) was a great idea because showed clearly what a great singer Daniel is and it actually improved some songs, like Live By Night, which didn’t really hit me on the record.