LOYLE CARNER // O2 ABC, GLASGOW
FANS LEFT TOUCHED AND ALIVE AS LOYLE CARNER PLAYS GLASGOW'S O2 ABC
LOYLE CARNER PEFORMING SOLD OUT SHOW AT GLASGOW'S O2 ABC - 28/09/2017
PICTURE BY: FINDLAY MACDONALD PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★★
Loyle Carner had his stage set out like a family living room, which was perfectly fitting as he seamlessly went through songs from his debut album ‘Yesterdays Gone’, a lot of which are to do with his family and where he is from. He was joined by long term partner and best friend Rebel Kleff – who improvised a support show as the original support act pulled out.
Carner made his way through a moving set that described life at home and money worries as he mixed up the tempo with warm and vivid descriptions of family life whilst mixing up some of his more mellow songs to keep the crowd energy alive.
The choir singing on the opening track on his album ‘”The Isle of Arran” played as he swaggered around in a retro Scottish football strip to his audiences’ delight. The soulful song finishes and in typical Glasgow fashion the crowd make a deafening sound. He looked in disbelief at the noise as he shook his head and told stories of spending his summers with his granddad in the ‘fucking freezing’ city of Glasgow.
He introduced the next song by saying ”I don’t have a drinking problem, I just love drinking” as he worried about texting a girl with a short but brilliant acapella piece. This subject seemed to resonate with a majority of the – mostly younger – audience.
“You all know my pal Tom Misch yeah?” he bellowed down the microphone to the crowd’s satisfaction as they realised what was coming. The slow clapping and funk guitar filled up the abc, the crowd moved around whilst Carner began to rap the superbly smooth ‘Damselfly’. Interspersed between Carner’s rap every now and again was the sound of Tom Misch’s soft words.
LOYLE CARNER PEFORMING SOLD OUT SHOW AT GLASGOW'S O2 ABC - 28/09/2017
PICTURE BY: FINDLAY MACDONALD PHOTOGRAPHY
He poured heart into the next song ‘Florence’ which he wrote for his mum who had always wanted a daughter. The beautiful lyrics were soothing and the crowd were left truly touched. Rebel Kleff then made his way out from behind the bookcase and his decks to help Carner out with a brand new, unreleased song.
Next he took some time to explain the content of a song. Carner explained his father’s passing and where a lot of his inspiration had come from. In his hand he carried round his father’s old Eric Cantona top so it was as if he was there. The emotion hit a climax as he sat on the sofa and watched football highlights that reminded him of his father who he had always wanted to make music with. He stayed with the football theme and called a fan up on to the stage who had a brought a retro PSG top to the gig for him. Carner put it on and explained that he agreed to fly the fan over form Dublin if he brought him a shirt.
The bluesy saxophone echoed around the venue and mixed with the screams from the crowd as he played his critically acclaimed song ‘Ain’t Nothing Changed’. As the sound of the music tails off he screamed ‘Ain’t nothing changed except the size of this stage’. The relatively new artist can only get bigger and better.
The beautiful “Son of Jean’ got played after but not before Carner told the story behind the music. He told the crowd that after his father’s death the family found an album that he had recorded and no one had heard before. The song is incredibly moving especially when his mother’s monologue kicks in at the end. Her voice describes him as a ‘joy’ and says that the world is his. At 21 years of age on a sold out tour it is difficult to disagree with her.
He left the stage with the crowd begging for more. He came back out to the loud and live guitar-riff of ‘NO-CD’ with his dad’s football top on and his best friend joined him as they stood side by side and left the crowd with a lively and mature performance. He left but not without describing Glasgow as ‘one of the most important places in the world’.
It is quite an unusual feeling remembering a gig so clearly but along with his soulful lyrics, distinctive voice, energy and charisma that is just one of the many qualities of Loyle Carner. As his mum describes him in the monologue; ‘completely fearless’. He personified this phrase last night as he poured colour and soul into every song, if the 21-year-old carries on like this the world could truly be his.
LOYLE CARNER'S TOUR CONTINUES:
SEPTEMBER 30TH : ARTS CLUB - LIVERPOOL, UK
OCTOBER 1ST : UNIVERSITY STYLUS - LEEDS, UK
OCTOBER 3RD : O2 INSTITUTE - BIRMINGHAM, UK
OCTOBER 4TH : O2 ACADEMY - BRISTOL, UK
OCTOBER 6TH : O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON - LONDON, UK
OCTOBER 7TH : WEDGEWOOD ROOMS - PORTSMOUTH, UK
OCTOBER 8TH : UEA - NORWICH, UK
OCTOBER 10TH : PHOENIX - EXETER, UK
OCTOBER 11TH : RESCUE ROOMS - NOTTINGHAM, UK
OCTOBER 12TH : O2 RITZ - MANCHESTER, UK
OCTOBER 14TH : MOJO - HAMBURG, GERMANY
OCTOBER 15TH : ASTRA KULTURHAUS - BERLIN, GERMANY
OCTOBER 17TH : MUFFATHALLE - MUNICH, GERMANY
OCTOBER 18TH : ZOOM FRANKFURT - HESSE, GERMANY
OCTOBER 19TH : AB BOX - BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
OCTOBER 21ST : DEBASER STRAND - STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
OCTOBER 22ND : PUMPEHUSET - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
OCTOBER 24TH : LE GRAN MIX - TOURCOING, FRANCE
OCTOBER 25TH : MELKWEG - AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
OCTOBER 26TH : WIZEMANN CLUB - STUTTGART, GERMANY
OCTOBER 28TH : FLEX - VIENNA, AUSTRIA
OCTOBER 29TH : E-WERK - COLOGNE, GERMANY
OCTOBER 30TH : MAGNOLIA - MILAN, ITLAY
NOVEMBER 1ST : NINKASI KAFE - LYON, FRANCE
NOVEMBER 2ND : FRI-SON FRIBOURG - ETR, SWITZERLAND
NOVEMBER 3RD : MASCOTTE - ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
NOVEMBER 4TH : GRANDE HALLE DE LA VILLETTE - PARIS, FRANCE