2023-02-27 – KT Tunstall – Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Review & Photos: G. Rossington.
There was a time just following lockdown where it seemed that KT Tunstall playing any more live dates could be in severe doubt. Due to problems with her hearing, she had to cancel numerous dates supporting Hall & Oates and even stated that “It could be the difference between being able to be a musician or not”. Without wanting to dwell any further, it seems that even if it is a temporary fix, the mighty Tunstall is back on the road in support of her seventh studio album ‘Nut’, and the final in a trilogy of albums released over a six-year period.
The support act for tonight is the amazingly talented Andy Burrows. Playing a short and sweet set compromising mostly of tracks from his solo records. ‘Company’, ‘Because That I Can’ and ‘Barcelona’ show off a wonderous craftsmanship in building a song alongside his sharp and witty lyrics. Andy is known well for his work soundtracking ‘The Snowman & the Snow Dog’, sadly we do not get a delight from this tonight, but he is probably better known as being the drummer for indie band Razorlight. As a tribute to them – not mentioning they are playing a greatest hits tour next month – he covers ‘Before I Fall To Pieces’ which does indeed get the audience jeered up a little. He leaves with another solo song ‘Keep On Moving On’ and promises to keep the mood going when he returns as part of KT’s band.
The problem with Symphony Hall is that everything is regimented. The start and finish times on the whole are to the dot, the intermission is to an exact time and the show is always over by exactly the advertised time – not a bad thing, but sometimes it would be nice and even “rock n’ roll” for them to let their hair down a little. So at exactly 8:45pm, the lights in the venue dim and a polite clapping is made as Andy Burrows returns to the stage alongside Seye Adelekan on bass. They are swiftly followed by the star of the night, Miss KT Tunstall.
The problem with Symphony Hall is that everything is regimented. The start and finish times on the whole are to the dot, the intermission is to an exact time and the show is always over by exactly the advertised time – not a bad thing, but sometimes it would be nice and even “rock n’ roll” for them to let their hair down a little. So at exactly 8:45pm, the lights in the venue dim and a polite clapping is made as Andy Burrows returns to the stage
alongside Seye Adelekan on bass. They are swiftly followed by the star of the night, Miss KT Tunstall.
After a brief “Hello”, she launches straight in to ‘The Pilot’ taken from recent album ‘Nut’. This track set the pace for the night with its laid back overtone with progressive and experimental rhythm section. It’s nice to see someone of KT’s caliber experimenting with the sounds at this stage of her career. ‘Dear Shadow’ comes next followed by an early highlight of fan favourite ‘Other Side of the World’. The latter sees everyone whip their phones out to turn on light – clearly this is the modern version of “lighters in the air”.
It’s easy to forget sometimes, just how incredible a songwriter KT is. ‘Demigod’ is a tribute to her love for Stevie Nicks, ‘Private Eyes’ is gorgeous and we get a “tour debut” of ‘Funnyman’. One of the absolute highlights however was when Seye and Andy left the stage and KT addresses the audience on a one to one level. Being the absolute gem that she is, earlier in the day she had done a music workshop for students at the Birmingham Music Academy and had apparently been asked to play a special song. She agreed and we get a rare performance of ‘Scarlet Tulip’ from the strictly limited and “no barcode” release of the same name. Watching KT perform so intricately and delicately is always a moment to behold, and this was just perfection.
After a spontaneous cover of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ with her band back in force, she addresses the fact that someone very important is missing the tour for the first time since she started out. The trusty “Wee Bastard”, aka: her infamous loop pedal is having a well-earned rest and some TLC so she askes whether the audience are willing to help her out for the next one. Of course, it can only be ‘Black Horse and the Cherry Tree’ which naturally goes down a treat.
KT is a rock chick at heart. She loves Stevie Nicks, clearly loves Led Zeppelin and ELO. She has also declared a huge admiration for Thom Yorke and Radiohead – even declaring she’s love to do a cover of Yorke’s solo album ‘The Eraser’ – (note: declared many years ago during an exchange on twitter – GR). That being said, you can easily forget that sometimes, just sometimes, she likes to crank the amps to 11 and rock out.
‘Push That Knot Away’ is a rocker and usually packs a punch, tonight is no different even if they are a three piece, the sound is incredible. ‘Saving My Face’ also gets a few up off their bums and dancing – you can see the security guards sweating that there could be a health and safety violation if one foot steps slightly in to the aisle. It’s nice to feel some rock in such a prestigious venue, almost as if it’s being stuck up to the man – like Jack Black implies in ‘School of Rock’.
‘Canyons’ closes the main set and signals the clapping and occasional “Whoop!” from those brave enough in the audience to try and encourage an encore. Of course we are not disappointed, moments later KT and band return and further promote ‘Nut’ one last time with ‘Out of Touch’. This is then segued in to the odd but fun ‘Brain In A Jar’. Finally, as once again she thanks us for coming out on a dull and soaking wet Monday evening, the band launch in to their final track ‘Suddenly I See’. Of course, being another fan favourite this also goes down a treat and finally sees the audience brave enough to spill out in to the aisles and crowd around the front making it feel like an actual concert. As the song ends and we get a series of group hugs and bows, they bid us farewell and bang on time, the show has come to an end.
If you haven’t already, check out ‘Nut’ as a record by itself, but also check out the complete trilogy: ‘Kin’ (2016) and ‘Wax’ (2018) completing it. To add narrative to the releases; ‘Kin’ focuses on the soul, ‘Wax’ is all about the body and ‘Nut’ is about the mind. Spiritual enlightenment in the form of music therapy – perfection.
