Sam Smith: In The Lonely Hour Tour
Feb 22, 2015 21:14:59 GMT -5
Post by Glove Slap on Feb 22, 2015 21:14:59 GMT -5
Yeah this is late, but even if you're missing him this time, he'll probably tour again within the year.
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York
Date: January 15, 2015
Opening act: George Ezra
Setlist:
Life Support
Together
Leave Your Lover
I'm Not the Only One
I've Told You Now
Nirvana
Like I Can
Restart
Good Thing
Lay Me Down
My Funny Valentine (Hal McIntyre & His Orchestra cover)
La La La
Money on My Mind / Finally
(CeCe Peniston cover)
Encore:
Latch (with Disclosure)
Make It To Me
Stay With Me
Early into his set in front of a crowd that had sold out in half an hour, Sam Smith spoke of the first time he ever performed in New York. It had been at the Mercury Lounge less than 18 months prior for just over one hundred people. This sudden rise to massive success provided the backdrop to the night, as Smith interluded his set with the tales of how he wrote the songs on his debut album, In The Lonely Hour. He often joked about how many people there were, and was upfront about how he was not used to the size of the stage and crowd.
The night’s opener, George Ezra had also found himself at odds with trying to fully engage with the large audience. It was obvious that neither one was used to playing arenas, although Smith’s band had less issues with properly projecting their sound. Still mostly unknown stateside, Ezra performed select numbers from his debut, Wanted On Voyage, including the UK hits, to a respectable response from an audience that was unfamiliar with him.
Motion is not Smith’s forte. Even as he tried to engage the crowd, he seemed as if he would prefer to just stand as he wandered from one side of the stage to the other trying to get people to raise their hands. During the intro to Nirvana, he attempted to put himself into a groove with little success. Even with the backup singers, he seemed oddly out of step.
Fittingly though, the show always came back to his voice. Drawing similarities to multiple powerhouse vocalists, Smith’s voice sounded better than ever. The shriller vocal performances from the album were replaced with smoother, softer tones, or at times he asked the crowd to sing, such as Money On My Mind. A planned section which was meant to be simply Smith with a piano had to be altered when the instrument wouldn’t work. But the crowd didn't seem to care that one of the band members followed on a keyboard rather than Smith himself, just as long as he sang. A traditional take on My Funny Valentine allowed him to showcase his lower range and great control. Despite attempts to liven the show, it always came across more as a showcase. The setlist leaned heavily on ballads and midtempos, ones that soared with his singing, even those which might not have been as well written.
The reserve and traditional class of the show was put into sudden focus and turned on its head only once. Rather than simply do the acoustic version of his transatlantic hit Latch, the brothers of Disclosure came onto the stage as they performed the song which had opened so many does for all of them. Only at that moment did the energy in the room reach a new peak, and perhaps it was at that point that Smith’s more latent potential was shown as he kept up with ease, leaving no doubt of his mastery. At the end of the song, the three of them embraced and stood triumphant as they basked in what started with that song nearly three years ago. The final number of the show was appropriately his most known hit, Stay With Me.
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York
Date: January 15, 2015
Opening act: George Ezra
Setlist:
Life Support
Together
Leave Your Lover
I'm Not the Only One
I've Told You Now
Nirvana
Like I Can
Restart
Good Thing
Lay Me Down
My Funny Valentine (Hal McIntyre & His Orchestra cover)
La La La
Money on My Mind / Finally
(CeCe Peniston cover)
Encore:
Latch (with Disclosure)
Make It To Me
Stay With Me
Early into his set in front of a crowd that had sold out in half an hour, Sam Smith spoke of the first time he ever performed in New York. It had been at the Mercury Lounge less than 18 months prior for just over one hundred people. This sudden rise to massive success provided the backdrop to the night, as Smith interluded his set with the tales of how he wrote the songs on his debut album, In The Lonely Hour. He often joked about how many people there were, and was upfront about how he was not used to the size of the stage and crowd.
The night’s opener, George Ezra had also found himself at odds with trying to fully engage with the large audience. It was obvious that neither one was used to playing arenas, although Smith’s band had less issues with properly projecting their sound. Still mostly unknown stateside, Ezra performed select numbers from his debut, Wanted On Voyage, including the UK hits, to a respectable response from an audience that was unfamiliar with him.
Motion is not Smith’s forte. Even as he tried to engage the crowd, he seemed as if he would prefer to just stand as he wandered from one side of the stage to the other trying to get people to raise their hands. During the intro to Nirvana, he attempted to put himself into a groove with little success. Even with the backup singers, he seemed oddly out of step.
Fittingly though, the show always came back to his voice. Drawing similarities to multiple powerhouse vocalists, Smith’s voice sounded better than ever. The shriller vocal performances from the album were replaced with smoother, softer tones, or at times he asked the crowd to sing, such as Money On My Mind. A planned section which was meant to be simply Smith with a piano had to be altered when the instrument wouldn’t work. But the crowd didn't seem to care that one of the band members followed on a keyboard rather than Smith himself, just as long as he sang. A traditional take on My Funny Valentine allowed him to showcase his lower range and great control. Despite attempts to liven the show, it always came across more as a showcase. The setlist leaned heavily on ballads and midtempos, ones that soared with his singing, even those which might not have been as well written.
The reserve and traditional class of the show was put into sudden focus and turned on its head only once. Rather than simply do the acoustic version of his transatlantic hit Latch, the brothers of Disclosure came onto the stage as they performed the song which had opened so many does for all of them. Only at that moment did the energy in the room reach a new peak, and perhaps it was at that point that Smith’s more latent potential was shown as he kept up with ease, leaving no doubt of his mastery. At the end of the song, the three of them embraced and stood triumphant as they basked in what started with that song nearly three years ago. The final number of the show was appropriately his most known hit, Stay With Me.
