Gig review: Michael Kiwanuka at The Level

The sold-out crowd popped when the well-known singer Michael Kiwanuka walked onto the stage. He was accompanied by two backup singers, a bassist, a drummer and a pianist. From then on, apart from the occasional cheer and hum the crowd were silent; you could hear a pindrop. Michael began by saying he would be performing songs “mostly from his new record, but some from old ones as well”, and then played Lowdown Part I from his new album Small Changes. When he finished the song, a couple of ladies asked for his guitar pick, which he gave them.

“No one had ever asked me for a pick before, that’s cool," he commented.

These songs were mostly performed on a Gibson P90 guitar, which gives a warmer, mellower sound and fitted the lower tone of his voice well. I enjoyed the songs from his new record, although those from his new album were all more rhythmical and less melodic than his older work. This worked well, and I enjoyed the live songs more than the recorded versions.

Halfway through Michael's set, he told a funny story about how his dad was more excited to be on the Graham Norton Show than he was about his son performing there. 

Another stand-out performance from his new record was the album's title track Small Changes, a low-key, thoughtful tune that makes you want to sit in the living room and think about life. Michael said before he performed the song that he thought it was so good that the whole album was inspired by it, not just the name. 

After this, it was time for some music from his old record. The first was the song Cold Little Heart from 2019's Love and Hate. This song has an amazing melody, and the crowd were humming along to it beautifully. When it finished, to massive applause, everyone vacated the stage. There was a tense feeling as the crowd wondered whether there would be an encore or not. It seemed that, as musicians tend to do, he was pushing his new album more. But it went deeper for Michael, with him stating that this new music was the “music he always wanted to make”.

To the audience’s delight, Michael and the band returned. Now back they performed their last song and, in my opinion, his magnum opus. The self-titled song Love and Hate started with a simple melody that most of the audience were singing; and not only the melody but the words were known by most as well. The song builds up slowly and reaches a majestic crescendo on the lyrics “Love and hate, how much more are we supposed to tolerate?” 

Then this 9-minute masterpiece started to slowly fade out. The band stopped playing and singing until it was just Michael and his guitar. He strummed and sung, getting quieter for about a minute until he finally stopped and it's over. 

The crowd were in awe of him, applying the most grateful claps. Performing life-changing music that has meant so much to me personally but even more to the nation, Michael is a must-see.

Michael Kiwanuka performed at The Level on 27th November 2024.

@michaelkiwanuka