Review by: Joey Kavanagh
Photos by: Abe Tarrush
Open-air midsummer concerts are a lovely idea in theory. However, here in Ireland where ‘the rainy season’ spans twelve months, they can be a little problematic.
The first splashes of rain start to fall in The Iveagh Gardens just as Candi Staton takes to the stage. Clad in a spangly dress and flanked by a fantastic backing band, the 67-year-old singer wastes no time in distracting attention from the imminent deluge, launching into a set of familiar soul numbers.
Her voice, while not as strong as it once was, has held up far better than many of her contemporaries. Working her way through hits like ‘I’m Just A Prisoner’ and ‘I’d Rather Be An Old Man’s Sweetheart’, as well as her covers of ‘Suspicious Minds’ and ‘Stand By Your Man’, Staton’s giddy energy and show(wo)manship shine through.
By the time she wraps up with her two signature tunes ‘Young Hearts (Run Free)’ and ‘You Got The Love’, the First Lady Of Southern Soul has entirely won over the soggy audience and set a lofty standard for headliner Paloma Faith, some forty years Candi’s junior, to live up to.
I’ll confess that, ahead of the gig, I was largely unfamiliar with the work of Paloma Faith. I’d heard a couple of her tracks a few months back and filed her neatly under ‘not my thing’. However, moments after the 24-year-old Londoner takes to the stage and launches in to the opening bars of debut single ‘Stone Cold Sober’, I’m already reconsidering my evaluation.
Dressed in a black futuristic flamenco dress, teamed with a plastic beret, the flame-haired singer cuts a striking figure. A giant mirror serves as a backdrop and her band are clad in matching red and black outfits.
These eye-catching details are all well and good but what grabs my attention more forcibly still is Paloma’s voice. Even if, at times, the bluesy timbre sounds a little affected, there are a clutch of numbers, such as her cover of The Korgis’ ‘Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime’, where her singing is nothing short of phenomenal.
In the wake of Amy Winehouse’s sizeable (if short-lived) success, a barrage of soulful songbirds have emerged and, vocally, Paloma certainly bears some resemblance to Winehouse. Both lyrically and musically, however, Paloma’s material has more of a pop sheen and she, herself, remarks that a track like ‘Stargazer’ would be perfectly suited to a Disney movie.
Even if this type of music isn’t your thing, Paloma’s stage presence can’t be denied. Appearing so comfortable and in command of the stage, you’d be forgiven for thinking she’s been in the business as long as support act Candi Staton but, in fact, she has been touring mere months.
After expending all her own material and finishing with signature tune ‘New York’, she returns for an encore to pay tribute to two of her biggest influences: Etta James and Bille Holiday.
With stunning renditions of ‘Lover Man’ and ‘At Last’, Paloma serves up one last reminder of her megastar potential before urging us to join her again when she returns in November.
Well, it’d be rude not to…
