Effervescent, emotional and endearing, one of Britain’s most-loved singer-songwriters Paloma Faith put on an epic show in Bournemouth where she served up a mixture of tracks from her latest album ‘The Glorification of Sadness’ as well as treating the enraptured audience to a selection of songs from her impressive back catalogue.
As always, Paloma was in sparkling form and as well as singing her heart out, also displayed her usual warmth and wit with some very funny anecdotes and quips where she shared her experiences of being a newly-single mum with her candid opinions on topics like the patriarchy were candid and humorous in equal measure, but it was her more impassioned revelations that helped elevate the already emotionally-charged lyrics to even higher levels in a live arena.
Her decision to eschew hosting a support band was an act of genius as it meant that the audience had even more ‘Paloma time’ than they perhaps had anticipated. Paloma is the queen of effortlessly combining both delicacy and power into her vocals and this was evident from the opening tracks which included the barnstorming ‘How You Leave A Man’ which she described as ‘one of (her) most life-changing moments’ and fan favourite ‘Bad Woman’ where she encouraged the audience to sing along and swing their arms.
Paloma’s tone and phrasing is always hauntingly beautiful, and she always delivers a heart-wrenching performance on the emotional tracks where she pours her heart and soul and you feel every iota of feeling and emotion.
As a departure from the more emotively raw numbers, there was an uplifting rendition of the highly danceable ‘Crybaby’ and the crowd danced along to the do-wop vibe of ‘Eat Shit and Die’, it is clear that Paloma is in a fantastic place after dissecting and recovering from a substantial heartbreak – and this was evident throughout her standout performance.
After a short interval, it was time for a trip down memory lane with a collection of tracks from albums such as her stunning debut ‘Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful’ which includes a breathtaking performance of ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’ which showcased her pristine vocals to perfection. The crowd sang along and after being encouraged by their favourite singer, held their mobile phones with the torch lights on which really added an extra dimension to the atmosphere.
From the jubilant ‘Upside Down’ (complete with a magnificent armography section from Paloma and her fantastic backing singers) and the energetic ‘Stone Cold Sober’, Paloma had the crowd in the palm of her hand.
This was a spectacular, heartfelt and captivating performance which showcased Paloma’s impressive body of work and further cemented her place as one of the best live acts to watch in the UK.
Photo Credit: @markbutler_photography
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