TOM WALKER // O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW
Tom Walker is trying his best to take over the world and there is no doubt that he is working hard, but he’ll need to up his game to really impress.
TOM WALKER PERFORMING AT EDINBURGH’S CORN EXCHANGE - 10.11.2019
PICTURE BY: | CALUM BUCHAN PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★☆ ☆ (3/5)
Tom Walker is a name that suddenly seemed to spring up overnight when the singer songwriter was thrown to fame in late 2017 with his hit single ‘Leave a Light On.’ This track went on to chart brilliantly across Europe and went double platinum in many countries. Walker released his highly anticipated début album in the spring of this year and has toured it unflinchingly across the globe.
Walker himself is originally from the Scottish town Kilsyth and despite moving to Cheshire at an early age, it’s clear that the Scots strongly consider him one of their own. Tickets to Walker’s Glasgow O2 Academy Show sold out rapidly, leaving the venue jammed to the rafters with a young, chirpy crowd. Having played in the city just a few months earlier to this and with a performance coming up in February in Glasgow’s iconic but compact venue King Tuts, it really wonders speaks for Walker’s current popularity.
When Walker’s cheery face bounded front and centre it was clear to everyone in the room that he is a man who is grateful for his success and is delighted to perform for such a crowd. He opened with ‘Angels’ and this powerhouse singer blasted the track out into the auditorium and his fans roared in delight.
A highlight of the evening was the uplifting ‘Walk Alone.’ This is a track by drum and bass group Rudimental that Walker features on. When performing it on his own stage, Walker supercharged the audience and was a memorable moment.
Walker dipped into his EP Blessings with the track ‘Karma’ and a slightly extended version of the sentimental ‘Just You and I.’ He played heavily from the 2019 release What a Time to be Alive. ‘My Way’ and ‘Something to Believe In’ heard the fans sing along wholeheartedly. The last number of the night was the smash hit ‘Leave a Light On,’ performed with all the gusto it needed and Walker bowed to the crowd with pride and appreciation.
What really let the set down was its creative dryness and lack of surprises. A few months prior, Walker played a set where pipe band Red Hot Chilli Pipers joined him on stage. For this set, fans were treated to a stunning but conventional evening that bordered on predictable. As charming a character as Walker is, to really make a lasting impression, he will need to push some boundaries.
Walker is a performer who radiates humility and warmth but he needs to give something unexpected to wow his audience and a set of, near perfect, cut out copies of his tracks may sound stunning, but it does not make for a night to brag about.
SETLIST: | TOM WALKER : O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW - 11.11.2019
Angels
Cry Out
Walk Alone - (Rudimental cover)
Karma
Heartbeats
Fly Away With Me
Fade Away
Just You and I
Now You’re Gone
My Way
Something to Believe In
Dominoes
Not Giving In
ENCORE:
Better Half of Me
Leave a Light On