This sold out show at Nottingham’s Motorpoint arena certainly did not disappoint. I’d been trying to get a ticket from the day that the tour was announced and by some miracle managed to get hold of one 3 hours before. Aside from a night of fab music, one thing I particularly loved about this tour was the use of personalised tickets in order to prevent resale and ticket scalping – a huge threat to the live music scene.
Doors opened at 6:30 and I spent an hour making my way through the crowds and getting evil glares from middle-aged mothers and their daughters, who clearly are yet to understand the ways of a standing concert, before I eventually ended up dead centre and only 3 rows from the front. (So worth the glares!)
Whilst only on for around half an hour, Sigrid made a huge impact on her audience – opening the show with the title track of her debut album ‘Sucker Punch.’ The synth-pop vibe of her music got the crowd buzzing from the word go. Her high energy and interaction with her band and the crowd was superb. The way she seemed so carefree and embraced her natural self, not only made the gig feel intimate, despite the thousands of people there, it also made us feel as though we wanted to be her best friend.
Whilst before the gig, I doubt I would have been able to name any song by the Norwegian singer other than her debut single “Don’t Kill My Vibe” – I quickly realised that I knew many of her songs – my personal favourites being “Strangers” and “Business Dinners”. I could not get over her incredible vocal range and control despite making it appear oh so effortless.
Sigrid was definitely the perfect choice to kick off the show and has definitely gained a few new fans with many individuals commenting on how great she was afterwards. Sigrid’s debut album ‘Sucker Punch’ is out now and I highly recommend a listen. She returns to Nottingham on the 24th November at Rock City on her own headline tour.
When it comes to the main event – George Ezra – I am definitely guilty of being a little bias due to the ridiculous love I have for this man! The set was designed as the living room of Tamara’s house – the owner of the AirBnB he stayed in during the writing of his 2nd album in Barcelona, also, conveniently named ‘Staying at Tamara’s.’ He opened the show with “Don’t Matter Now”, one of the catchiest hits on his 2nd album and within seconds he was having to compete against the thousands of fans singing along and screaming proposals and declarations of love at the poor man. On stage alongside Ezra was a large band including a brass section, which I thought was a lovely touch. Despite the slightly awkward technique of the bassist, they were all highly talented and appeared to be having a great time on stage and interacting with the audience.
Ezra spoke lots about his adventures that inspired him to write the songs on his albums – particularly his adventures backpacking and Interrailing across Europe. Despite getting a few laughs, it did feel a little ‘let me tell you about the adventures I had on my gap year.’ Nevertheless, I still walked away believing that George Ezra is a lovely soul and would be the perfect man to introduce to my nan.
A highlight of the gig was during his super sweet love song, “Hold My Girl”, when a sea of Chinese lanterns appeared above the stage and everyone was swaying with their phone lights in the air – it was a beautiful moment even though I was resenting the couples there who were having a dance together when my boyfriend is halfway across the country. Oh well! Ezra finished with arguably his most well-known song at the moment, “Shotgun”, and left the crowd singing even as he left the stage. Whilst George Ezra’s pop music may not be to everyone’s taste, there is no dispute in the fact that he is a highly talented musician and him and his band put on a great show.
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