SAM BAILEY // ALHAMBRA THEATRE, DUNFERMLINE
X FACTOR WINNER 'SAM BAILEY' PLAYS DUNFERMLINE ALHAMBRA THEATRE
SAM BAILEY PERFORMS AT DUNFERMLINE ALHAMBRA THEATRE
PICTURE BY: COLIN FOY PHOTOGRAPHY
Sam Bailey, the winner of the 10th series of the X-Factor in 2013 added Dunfermline as part of her UK tour, and fans of all ages came to see her this evening along with two female support acts who got the eager crowd warmed up with fine individual performances.
The audience were all seated and patiently waiting to finally hear and see Sam in the flesh, and they were not to be disappointed. Sam kicked off the set with a Jocelyn Brown cover ‘Someone else’s Guy’, wonderfully sung with a great band and backing singers.
The thing that struck me most was her engaging and witty personality, totally at ease with the audience, with a mixture of anecdotes and little funny stories of her personal life, her songs of course were fabulous, a mix of covers and her own songs, I particularly enjoyed her rendition of ‘I can’t make you love me’ (Bonnie Raitt cover) a soulful and engaging performance which the crowd loved. Later, Sam sung one of her own numbers, ‘Sun above the Clouds’ which she wrote on a flying trip, a wonderful song with a vocal quality to match, and surprisingly playing the guitar as well, indeed showing off her musical talents by entertaining the audience with a drum solo also, this lady truly had the crowd in her hands by this time, and I was amazed with her powerful and controlled vocal performance.
SAM BAILEY PERFORMS AT DUNFERMLINE ALHAMBRA THEATRE
PICTURE BY: COLIN FOY PHOTOGRAPHY
One of the highlights of the evening for me was her performance of the Don Henley cover ‘Dirty Laundry’ ably assisted by her band, a fantastic song choice, much suited to her powerful vocals, by this time the audience were hooked, more animated and joining in with the chorus and loving every minute of it. After excellent songs like; ‘Clown’ (Emile Sande) ... ‘And I am telling you i’m not going’ (Henry Krieger) Sam surprised again by bringing on ‘Rock Choir’ for what for me was the performance of the night, a superbly sung version of Labi Siffre’s huge hit ‘Something inside so strong’ .... A soaring, soulful performance from everyone, just fabulous.
Another three songs followed before the encore, and finished with a powerhouse rendition of ‘Nothing’s gonna stop us now’ by rock legends Starship. The crowd were on their feet clapping and singing along to one of rocks great anthems, Sam was joined in the front with her superb backing singers and Rock choir, to deliver the ultimate vocal and musical performance to finish the night, the audience left with the music still ringing in their ears, a masterful display by Sam Bailey and her band, she has moved on from her X-Factor days and one can easily say she has grown as a performer, but more than that, she came across as a wonderful and engaging human being, humble and feet still firmly on the ground in spite of her fame.