Tom Odell performed at Rock City on Saturday 5 March and we popped down to check out the show...
These days, the singles chart is a strange place. Thanks to the rise of streaming and TikTok trends, you’re as likely to find the latest Disney hit in the top ten as you are the new Ed Sheeran collaboration.
A strange consequence of streaming is also that it can give a second lease of live to a legacy hit. So, it was perhaps appropriate that, in the week Tom Odell’s 2013 release Another Love re-entered the UK top 100, that the Sussex-born singer-songwriter arrived in Nottingham on the latest leg of his current UK tour.
If you’ve enjoyed evenings at Rock City, then there is often something a little special about Friday and Saturday night gigs. The crowd seem noisier and a little more energetic, and this was certainly the case as a surprisingly young crowd created a terrific atmosphere.
In some ways Odell is an unlikely star. What you notice first of all is what an accomplished pianist he is – while he’s accompanied by a three-piece band here you could easily see him holding a crowd’s attention on a solo tour.
It’s a real skill to keep a crowd energised from behind a grand piano, especially when your most recent album features some sparsely produced downbeat tracks. Opening song Numb was a low-key start, eventually opening up into Can’t Pretend from his platinum-selling debut album Long Way Down.
A nicely paced set saw Odell take a tour through his four albums, with Magnetised and the magnificent Half As Good As You particular highlights. There were hints of Captain Fantastic-era Elton John on the excellent Heal and the 31-year-old even emerged from behind the piano to play guitar on Tears That Never Dry.
There was also a lovely reception for a cover of the Cyndi Lauper classic True Colours.
While all Odell’s albums have hit the top five, it’s perhaps not a surprise that the biggest crowd reaction came when the band hit their stride on the ‘hits’ from the number one debut.
Grow Old With Me got a rapturous reception, while Hold Me was the singalong the packed house demanded. A storming encore cover of Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark was also just what a lively audience needed on a Saturday evening.
As the end of the show approached, there was an extremely poignant moment when Odell spoke of the bands’ previous trips to Ukraine and their many shows in Kyiv. It’s so jarring to think about how those young people who had previously enjoyed a similar night in Odell’s company are now facing unimaginable terror, and dedicating the fan favourite Another Love was a moving touch.
A word also for support act Rae Morris who some will know for having duetted with Odell on the single Half As Good As You. Morris’ third album is due this summer and stripped-back versions of new single No Woman Is An Island, Do It, and Somewhere Out There were a superb way to start the night.
Tom Odell performed at Rock City on Saturday 5 March.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
