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Review: Emma Whitelaw
FOLLOWING the success of his critically-acclaimed Australian
Tour, Alex Lloyd wowed a sell-out crowd at Islington Academy on
Wednesday night (July 14, 2004).
As a live act, Alex Lloyd is nothing short of brilliant! Accompanied
only by his keyboardist, the lovely Barbara Griffin, he opened
the set with his forthcoming single, Hello the End, due
for a UK release on July 19.
Smitten from the start, the largely Aussie crowd’s adoration
was gratified as Alex serenaded us with his gorgeous ballad, Green:
"If you wanna be free, please don’t fall for me, I
could be anyone but your friend."
After a couple of broken strings and a few laughs later (from
both Alex and the crowd), he continued on with classics like,
My Way Home, Lucky Star, What a Year and My Friend.
The set featured a few new songs but as his latest offering,
Distant Light, is yet to be released in the UK, Alex
treated his fans to the songs they know oh so well. Not one of
the 800-plus crowd didn’t know the lyrics or sing-along.
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Never before have I seen an audience
have such a bond with the artist they’ve come to see.
It was as though there was some sort of mutual understanding
between us all.
It is little wonder, though, as most of Alex Lloyd’s songs,
especially those from his new album, have an 'away from home'
feel. The antipodeans were most certainly out in full force that
night.
That said; I met quite a few Brits at the show, too, who seemed
to be just as into it as the rest of us. His is a music that knows
no bounds, and literally ranges from folk, to country, to good
old Aussie rock!
As simplified as an ensemble can get, Alex claimed he’d
only bought two guitars cause he 'couldn’t be arsed carrying
any more'! Yet despite the scaled down line-up, the quality was
unreal!
The song that really got everyone’s vocal chords working
was his multi-platinum single, Amazing. As the lights
dimmed and Alex walked off-stage, the crowd cheered and screamed.
It was a mere matter of time before the dark and handsome one
re-appeared to play Black the Sun.
The stunning encore featured some of his most deeply melodic
tracks, Snow and Aliens, and it was obvious
that Alex had enjoyed the set as he finished with Coming Home,
with rock star guitar jumps and all!
I am yet to meet someone who doesn’t appreciate the intensity
of an Alex Lloyd live set.
It truly was an extraordinary experience and I greatly look
forward to the next time he’s in London! |
