Amy Macdonald @ The Picture House, Edinburgh (5th March 2013)

Having recently just completed a number of dates in Europe that had been rescheduled from last year, Amy Macdonald continues her tour in support of her current album Life In A Beautiful Light, stopping off at The Picture House in Edinburgh for one of only two Scottish dates this time around.

Opening for Amy was singer songwriter Ben Montague who hails from Kent. With the crowd cheering as he takes to the stage, he cheekily takes to the mic to remind them that ‘you haven’t heard me yet’. But it works as an ice breaker. He works his way through a selection of his tracks including Sweet Amelia , Broken (that followed his explaining that being a songwriter and in love is crap because you have nothing to write about), Haunted and Liberty Road. During the set he points out that he’ll be out meeting people & signing and that he’s back in Edinburgh in April on his own tour.

After a short set up period, Macdonald takes to the stage opening with 4th of July before heading into the handclapping Poison Prince.She takes a moment to welcome the sell out crowd to the venue but makes her feelings known about the backstage area (“They’ve obviously spent the money out the front”) and the temperature of the place. She also makes reference to the fact that she doesn’t have a second list tonight with a list of local words, a hinting at her time in Europe. However, this is put a minor distraction and she continues the set with L.A. and Spark.

She introduces the next track saying that people probably won’t associate with her and she took some convincing to include it on her latest album. Here we’re led into The Game. From there, it’s straight into a fan favourite in  Mr Rock & Roll. Before the next track, she chats to the crowd and announces that she’s taking a page out of ‘Davie C’s’ book in that we should be working for nothing and invites the crowd to become her backing singers for Slow It Down which of course they do with gusto.

Amy apologises during the set up for the next part that it’s been more graceful on other dates as they’ve had larger stages since they’ve been playing theatre type venues. The setting up leads to a short acoustic set starting with a solo version of Love Love and a new, only performed live version of Give It All Up. The band rejoin her for a rendition of This Pretty Face before a rare sight is seen; Amy without a guitar as she does a cover of Jackie Wilson’s (You’re Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher.

A short break for a quick clear up and it’s straight back to normal service as she head’s into the first single from A Curious Thing, Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over. With her being in Edinburgh, she offers to change the lyrics to the next song to the Green and Maroon (in respect to the two local football teams) but this doesn’t go down well with the crowd so she sticks with The Green and The Blue.

Next it’s into No Roots before she begins talking about how she’s just recently been asked to perform at Hampden when Scotland play against Wales. This leads into the resounding Pride. Next it’s into Run before heading into firm fan favourite This Is The Life (complete with fan participation) before finishing with the title track of her current album, Life In A Beautiful Light.

But the crowd call out for more and after a short few moments, Amy returns to the stage alone to perform her version of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark. Another chance to see Amy without guitar comes with a rendition of The Furthest Star before finishing on a high with two tracks from the debut album in form of Barrowland Ballroom and Let’s Start A Band.

You always get your money’s worth when going to see Amy. She continues to grow in confidence and isn’t shy about sharing her opinion (like commenting about people talking at gigs after paying good money when they could be down the pub). In a hour and a half, she powered through 22 songs with added banter. And with a ticket price of a mere £25 and considering what you might pay for some other bands (around the £40+ mark) it’s been money well spent and you always come away with a smile on your face.

Photos © Vhari Lannigan

Ben Montague
Official Site | Amazon | iTunes

Amy Macdonald
Official Site | Amazon | iTunes

Amy Macdonald // 4th Of July

Photo: © Vhari Lannigan

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Timed for airplay for just when her latest tour was about to kick off, the 3rd single from Amy Macdonald’s Life In A Beautiful Light album comes in the form of 4th Of July.

It might come as a surprise, but we don’t see the single potential in this track. It’s alright on the album and a live version of it isn’t too bad at all either, but as a single we just cannot buy into it. It doesn’t particularly sell itself and it’s probably down to the fact that it doesn’t lend itself to getting you sing along with it like many of her tracks do. It just sort of trundles along at it’s own little pace.

Sadly not a fireworks display worthy the 4th of July. It’s more of a damp squib.

Rating: 2/5

Amy Macdonald @ O2 ABC Glasgow (30th October 2012)

Amy’s return to Glasgow makes her appearance at the O2 ABC exactly 2 years & 9 days since her last tour rolled into town. it should be no surprise that back in her home town, she sold out 2 nights at the venue.

Supporting her was not the Kristina Train that some had thought would have (based on a tweet from Amy herself) but was in fact Paisley based singer songwriter Michael Cassidy. Performing a number of songs in his half hour set, including Meet You At The Corner, Everybody’s Scared, Fifteen Years and forthcoming single Battleships, Michael commented that on the Sunday he had performed to only 9 people and how this performance was 200 times that and that Amy’s fans obviously had good taste in music. He also made use of the crowd cheering when one female voice continued after everyone else calm down he said ‘thanks mum’ and ‘thanks dad’ when a male voice called out too, getting a few laughs from the crowd.

It didn’t take the stage crew long to clear up and ready the stage for the main event, although when levels were being checked on the mics, there was an air that the crowd would have loved to have had a call and response with the guy checking them. Soon, an introductionary theme of bagpipes begins, the band take their positions on stage and the curtain is removed revealing a backdrop of silhouetted roads signs and telegraph poles, as the band strike up and Amy takes stage with guitar in hand, heading into the first song of the night, 4th Of July.

From this it’s straight into what probably her hardcore fans would call her debut single, Poison Prince, a song that gets the fans clapping and singing a long. Her she pauses, welcoming everyone to the night and commenting how it’s lovely to be home and how she hears of others acts commenting about how good the Scottish crowds are when the play. It’s another track from her debut album in the form of L.A. .

Spark follows and as if in progression, The Game comes next, which shows how much Amy has grown into her voice. It might have sounded good in recording, but holding the word and climbing the scale, she has the crowd enthralled. Back to album 1 and it’s one of the fan favourites Mr Rock & Roll which again starts the sing-along of which Amy’s gig do soon become. Amy reflects after this back to T in the Park, where she believe she first played the next song, commenting about people standing in a marsh, singing along and reminds them that there is probably a crowd participation moment in it. She is of course talking about Slow It Down, the first single from her current album, Life In A Beautiful Light. And the crowd doesn’t fail to deliver and nether does Amy as she seems to hit all the notes.

A slight re-arrangement on stage and Amy announces that she knows there are some hardcore fans out there that see her every time she tours, so they’ve decided to do a little acoustic set in the set. This begins with her doing a version of her track Love Love with it just her and her guitar, making it slightly different from other performances. Then we have a rare sight. Amy without her guitar for a new 2012 tour version of Give It All Up (even though it debuted on BBC Radio 2 In Concert back in July!) Guitar back again for This Pretty Face along with the band before a new cover for the tour.

She begins by saying she wishes they could show the audience what goes on back stage. So far they’ve had Shannon (keyboards) playing the piano in his pants, and having a sing-a-long to another song. But this cover made it’s appearance at her gig in Dublin for Arthur’s Day. It is indeed a cover a  Jackie Wilson’s (You Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher. Reservations had been made when this cover had come to light online though it has to be said that any video of this song does not do it just as Amy threw herself into it, making it her own whilst respecting the original.

Normal service resumes as she enters into the first single from A Curious Thing in the shape of Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over, a song that gets keeps the crowd going getting clapping along. The Green and The Blue comes next and seems appropriate for her to play it in Glasgow given that it refers to Celtic and RFC 2012 (also known as Rangers). As the next song begins however, it’s obvious that many don’t seem to appreciate the finger picked first verse of No Roots as voices can be heard over Amy and it’s only once the full band start on the chorus, that voices are drowned out and order is restored.

Amy takes a moment to mention her 3rd album and it’s release; about how it reached number one in Scotland but only managed number two in the UK charts because of Gary Barlow and his Commonwealth Band and how Scotland obviously has good taste in music. She reminisces about her next track and about performing the national anthem at Hampden Park with Scotland plays. This of course leads into Pride and another chance for a clap along. The Killer’s inspired Run follows before heading into another firm fan favourite, This Is The Life, Amy working the crowd for them to sing along with her, which really they don’t need as they’re already with her. The final track of her main set comes in the title track of her current album, and tour name, Life In A Beautiful Light and has the perfect outro in it’s long instrumental at the end of the track.

The crowd chants for more and sure enough, Amy returns for her encore. Once more, she sings The Furthest Star minus her guitar, showing she’s not reliant on having it with her all the time. Taking it up a notch and back with her familiar counterpart, it’s into the resounding Barrowland Ballroom before finishing up with a Let’s Start A Band that finishes the night off where it started; on a high.

Looking back at where Amy has been and where she is now, you can see the change in her. There is more confidence in her and in her delivery. She’s grown into her voice and yes, you can hear that on her latest album, but to truly appreciate how far she has come, you have to hear her live. With a perfect balance to banter and songs, for the price of the ticket (£ + booking fee of £) you were rewarded with 20 tracks from across her three albums plus her one cover. The only thing that could have made the night better would have been taking a copy of the night home (fans have been wasted after the last tour).

Photos © Vhari Lannigan

Michael Cassidy
Official Site | Facebook

Amy Macdonald
Official Site | Facebook | Amazon UK | iTunes | Official Store

Amy Macdonald // Pride

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The choice for the second single from the third album Life In A Beautiful Light shouldn’t be a surprise to those who bought the album seeing as the sticker on the front of it said features the singles Slow It Down and Pride.

Whilst the song could fit in with Olympic fever, the song draws on Macdonald’s experiences of standing at Hampden Park (Scotland’s national stadium) singing the Scottish “national anthem” (aka Flower Of Scotland) before the international football matches and having 50,000 voices singing in the rain. The song itself is similar in tempo to previous single Slow It Down but has a much happier feel around it.

Probably the right time to release this given what’s going on in the UK at the moment, and with a few radio & TV appearances to promote the single, whilst it might not do grandly in the charts, at least she’s getting the song out there.

Rating: 4/5

Amy Macdonald @ SWG3 Glasgow 12th June 2012

A few months ago, Scottish singer/songwriter Amy Macdonald launched the STV Appeal by announcing that she was going to undertake 5 gig in one day to raise funds for the charity. Having already been in Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling & Edinburgh, Amy’s final gig of the day was to be in her hometown of Glasgow as SWG3.

Before Amy, we were introduced to Kamina Francis, a singer/songwriter from Blackpool who played three acoustic little numbers (which included Wherever I Go and Glory Days as well as gave some good old fashioned banter to the crowd between tracks. Despite the short set, she seemed to wow the crowd (and at the end of the night was seen meeting people, having her photo taken and seemed genuinely glad people had taken to her)

Next we had a little introduction from comedian Bruce Devlin, who had also been at all 5 gigs across the day and was giving the crowd a little background information to what the money raised was going to be doing as well as making use of members of the crowd for comedy. Then he introduced the woman of the moment to the stage, making way for Amy and two other band members.

Her first offering to the Glasgow crowd came in the form of current single Slow It Down (first from the new album Life In A Beautiful Light) which provided the crowd with their first listen to her voice. And despite the fact that she’d already played 4 other gigs in the day, her voice was still going strong as if it was the first gig of the day. At the end of this, she explained that as she wasn’t having to rush off anywhere after the gig, that Glasgow was getting a slightly longer set. This lead into the first playing of the day for the track from her second album (A Curious Thing) Spark.

Next it was onto the track that according to Amy was the one that probably introduced many of those present in the crowd to her. It is of course, Mr Rock & Roll from the debut album This Is The Life. Following this, she hints that she’s got a new album out and asks if anyone’s got it. The response isn’t enthralling, but she hopes that after hearing her tonight that people will go but it. At this point members of the crowd appear to wave copies and some asks would she sign it. She answers yes. Bless her. This leads in to a wonderful rendition of her new album’s title, Life In A Beautiful Light.

She recounts a stop for during the day at McDonald’s (probably just visiting relatives) where her radio promoter apparently overheard a few policemen (Amy seems to think it was a daily meeting judging by the numbers). Apparently one was overheard saying that they recognised her and that she had a new album. When asked how they knew, he replied that they were signed up to the mailing list (we like this person already) but that he deleted it straightaway. Anyone would have thought it was panto season all over again with the boos and hissing. All this after she’s posed for photos and autographs. She announces that this next song isn’t for them and proceeds to play Love Love.

Some backstory before the next track about getting to sing the national anthem at Hamden Park for the Scottish football team…before watching them get beaten….again. It’s another track from the new album called Pride. Finally rounding the whole set off is the ever popular This Is The Life  which had the crowd going from the word go as well as a little sing along with her. And true to her word, a tired but still smiling Amy met fans afterwards signing and have photos taken.

Overall, it was a great night for a great cause and Despite having done a previous 4 gigs, Amy still managed to save some for the hometown audience and still delivered what many could have said was a first show performance. It’s a fantastic feat for her to have accomplished but sadly, we don’t think she’s going to make the Guinness World Records though it. It did however manage to raise a staggering £10,000 for the appeal. Let’s hope it’s not too long before Amy’s back gracing the UK stages in a tour of her own.

Photos © Vhari Lannigan

Karima Francis:
Official Site | Download @ Amazon.co.uk | Download @ iTunes

Amy Macdonald:
Official Site | Official Store | Buy @ Amazon.co.uk | Download @ iTunes

Amy Macdonald // Life In A Beautiful Light

 Standard Version
Buy @ Amazon.co.uk | Download @ Amazon.co.uk
Download @ iTunes | Buy @ Official Store

Deluxe Version
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Download @ iTunes | Buy @ Official Store

Super Deluxe Version
Buy @ Official Store

Has it really only been 2 years since A Curious Thing was released? Apparently so, but now, after taking a year out, Scottish singer/songwriter Amy Macdonald is back with her third studio album, Life In A Beautiful Light

The album opens with sounds like to be heard at the American celebration of 4th of July. With background Ahhhhhhh and trumpet fanfares, it a bit more than we’re probably used to, but it still good. Pride comes up next and just has Macdonald’s name written all over it with a familiar sound. Next is Slow It Down (which we reviewed back at the start of May. See the review here). The Furthest Star in some instances gives a nursery rhyme sort of feel to it and at sometimes it does feel as if there are too many lyrics to fit. Still, it’s a nice mid-tempo track.

The Game shows a different side to Amy and how much she’s willing to push her voice now. It does sort of remind us of something that fellow Scots The Proclaimers might sing. Across The Nile was inspired by the Egyptian celebrations and it shimmers with keys, guitar and drums in equal balance. The Days Of Being Young And Free show once again how she’s grown into her voice, this time with some of the lower notes in it.

Left That Body Long Ago comes with Amy’s Glaswegian twang throughout it. We do warn that it’s likely to cause tears, particular if you’re familiar with the ravages of Alzheimer's disease, something that Macdonald was familiar with as her nan suffered with it before her death. From tears and sadness, we head into a bright and uptempo track, that is also the title. Life In A Beautiful Light once again has tinges of the Glaswegian twang on most words. Our only criticism is what the over 1 minute bit of odd sound is at the end of what is a great song.

A song inspired by the Chilean Miners is up next in the form of Human Spirit (see the Slow It Down single review for our view on this track) . The Green and the Blue is reference to the well known rivalry between Glasgow’s two teams, Rangers and Celtic but in certain parts does remind us of Runrig’s Loch Lomand. The aptly named In The End is the generally the last track for the album and is a resounding ending to the album.

Of course, there are other versions of the album. The deluxe version features acoustic versions of Slow It Down, The Furthest Star, The Green and The Blue, Across The Nile and 4th of July. We should stress that these acoustics are just Amy and her guitar and can probably be seen as how Amy heard them when she was writing them. There are also singalong instrumentals for Slow it Down, 4th of July and Pride.

And finally, if you really want to push the boat out, there is the super deluxe version that comes with the standard album, another disc with 19 tracks comprising of acoustic versions of Slow It Down, The Furthest Star, Across The Nile, 4th of July, The Days Of Being Young and Free, The Game and Born To Run plus…..ALL the singalong instrumentals to all the tracks on the album! There’s also a DVD with 5 acoustic performances (4th of July, Pride, Slow It Down, The Furthest Star and The Green and The Blue). Not only that but there is 2 numbered litho artworks and the sheet music for Slow It Down. Not bad for the price to be honest!

There is one final track to talk about and that is an acoustic one called Two Worlds. It’s a hidden track (but we didn’t tell you that…but it wouldn’t be an Amy Macdonald album without one!) We reckon that it’s not going to be to everyone’s taste but it’s a lovely little ballad number.

Looking at the album, it’s probably been a good idea for Macdonald to take the year off. Whilst the album maintains the familiar sound that Macdonald has become known for but at the same time, she’s trying something a little different. She’s written the entire album herself, a rarity these days especially for someone of Amy’s age. But she’s continued to use her tried and tested formula of using life experiences to inspire her songs. As she’s said herself, she has grown into her voice and is willing to try different things now. A fantastic album from a great Scottish artist who deserves more appreciation in the UK like she receives across in Europe.

Rating: 5/5

Amy Macdonald // Slow It Down

Buy @ Amazon.de | Buy @ JPC.de

Slow It Down is the first single to be lifted from the Scottish singer/songwriter third album, Life in A Beautiful Light, due for release here in the UK on the 11th June (8th June for Germany).  Sadly the powers that be have yet to allow the single to be released here in the UK (although it is slotted for release on the 11th June…funny that!), but over in Germany, fans can lay their hands on the physical single.

It’s a 2 track, backed with the album track Human Spirit. But let’s talk about the main track here, Slow It Down. She admits herself that the song is about her being a petrolhead. It’s a driving song that both that will have your foot tapping and come tour time, arms in the air clapping. There are some notes that may take fans by surprise in it, but it shows how far she’s come since the debut back in 2007.

Human Spirit is the second track here and as we said previously, features on the album as well. Inspired by the events surrounding the Chilean miners, the song is full of beautiful strings and contrasting that could be viewed as what was happening with the miners (The world kept going and nobody could see / The hell that was happening, too hard to see / And I'll shed a tear /For you) to how the rest of the world is (And all the while we're still thinking bout ourselves / Worrying bout money and stressing about wealth)

Both are beautiful tracks and show that Amy is still her and that 6 years on that nothing truly has changed for her. The emotion is still there as too the inspiration. Hopefully the rest of Life In A Beautiful Light will live up to expectations.

Rating: 5/5

New Music Friday: Amy Macdonald

Now, we know that Amy Macdonald isn’t a new artist as such, but it’s been two years since the release of A Curious Thing and last night via Twitter it was revealed that her new single, Slow It Down was going to get it’s first airplay in the UK and across Europe. But if you were unfortunate enough not to hear it, check the Youtube video below to hear it. Her new album, Life In A Beautiful Light is released June 11th 2012.

Official Site

Amy Macdonald // A Curious Thing (Special Orchestral Edition)

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Download @ iTunes

It's been a busy year for Amy Macdonald this year. Since the original release of A Curious Thing back in March this year, Amy has travelled all over the UK and Europe promoting it and it's singles, and recently just completed her longest tour to date. In between the touring though, Amy found time to travel to Luxembourg to record a some special renditions of some of her much loved songs with the German Philharmonic Orchestra.

This version of the release disregards the 2007 recording of the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow and replaces it with 12 tracks from her set with the German Philharmonic Orchestra. Like her recent tour set list, there are songs from both This Is The Life and A Curious Thing. There are of course some tracks that did already have some string arrangements in them, but played by the orchestra, it make the songs just sounds so very different and take on a completely different life. There's a little something special in hearing the songs like this.

This is the first time that it's been done with this orchestra and it sounds as if it is likely to become a frequent occurrence, so for Amy to be given the first chance is an honour. Everything tells you that this arrangement probably shouldn't work, but it does and it does beautifully.

There is a draw back on this though. Many fans will already have purchased the album back in March and may see no reason to purchase it again just for orchestrated versions of the songs. What might have worked would have been for the concert, if possible, to have been released in it's entirety and packaged it with the a DVD of it too and made it a release like Sting's Symphonicity. Still, it's a nice little offering for fans and well worth a listen.

Rating:4/5

Amy Macdonald // Love Love UK & European Arena Tour : 19.10.10 O2 Apollo Manchester

 Buy @ Concertlive.co.uk

Amy Macdonald embarks on her latest and quite possibly her longest UK and European tour in support of her new album, A Curious Thing. This time around though, she's teamed up with concert specialist Concert Live to allow fans to get their hands on copies of the tour on CD straight after the show, but only at selected venues. The first in the series of 4 is from the first night of the UK tour at the O2 Apollo in Manchester on the 19^th October 2010.

Presented as a digipack, the concert is spread across 3 discs (9, 7 and what will be 2 tracks on the last track...more on this later) and the quality of the tracks is superb. The tracks are in performance order and also includes her chatting to the fans with her little anecdotes and tales, giving you over an hour of material to live or, in the case of people who were at the gig, relive.

There is only one thing wrong with this. You've paid your money (the album costs £20 on the night, £20 plus P+P if bought from the site) and expect the full concert. Only problem is that you only get 2 full CDs. The encore disc is blank. In order to get the tracks, you need to go to a specified site online, enter your email and the code that you find underneath the 3^rd disc in the pack to receive the links to the download and burn the tracks to the final disc. Now, here is the possible problem. Now downloading is fine if you just want to keep the tracks in mp3 format, but there is the issue that if you are going to burn them to disc, that you have to hope that it works first time as there is only one disc. While yes this is probably a time saving idea, it does feel like you've been cheated, especially if you aren't familiar or confident in burning discs.

All in all, this is a great little memento from the night and marks the first full concert to be available to purchase (the second disc of the deluxe version of A Curious Thing is purely the tracks, whereas this is everything). As for who will buy it, more than likely anyone who attended the concert and those that wish to hear Amy live. Of course, this is the first of four from this tour, so the decision of which one to actually own may be difficult.

Rating: 4.5/5

Amy Macdonald Live @ Glasgow O2 Academy (21st October 2010)

The Scottish weather couldn’t dampen the spirits of those that turned out to see Amy Macdonald at the O2 Academy in Glasgow as she tours the country on the aptly named Love Love Tour (which is also the name of her current single).

First stop, the merchandise stall. Yes merchandise. Available to purchase on the night were T-shirts, mugs, bags, song book, programmes and Live CD. Unfortunately, the CD was not of that night’s show but of the first night of the tour, recorded in Manchester.Still, a whole show across 3 CDs for £20…Now it’s time to  take up position for the rest of the night. 

First to enter the stage is not Alan Powell as for weeks have been touted both on the venue site and tickets. No. He’s no longer appearing. Instead, we’re introduced to Pete Lawrie, a singer/songwriter from Wales. To break the ice with the audience, he politely announces that  his mother is from Scotland and asks if that qualifies him as Scottish. He powers through a solid set including the tracks, How Could I Complain, Jimmy and the Birds On Fire (which is about falling out with friends and not getting back in contact) and current single In The End (also the name of his forthcoming EP, released at the end of the month).

No sooner is he off the stage than the stage crew are in prepping for the main event. A quick turnaround and the main lights go down, the crowd goes wild and it’s on with the show.

The show kicks off as many of her gigs have recently with An Ordinary Life. Although tonight there is something different in the sound of the music. Maybe it because it’s the usual foursome (Mark (Guitar), Sam (Drums), Ben (Bass) and Shannon (Keys)) are joined by an additional multi-instrumentalist Owen Parker. From this we go straight into the rocking Poison Prince. After this, Amy takes a moment to properly speak to the crowd and thank them for turning out and talks about how the home crowd is always the best. Continuing with tracks from This Is The Life, we’re treated to L.A. and the one of the first tracks Amy ever wrote Youth of Today. Next we’re onto current single and tour name Love Love which leads us into the ever popular Mr Rock & Roll, which in all fairness, does end up sounding like a giant singalong.

Giving the band a chance to prep, Amy tells us about how she is constantly asked about what it’s like being a WAG, to which, she responds that she doesn’t see herself as one. This leads us onto Footballer’s Wife. After this she tells us about a performance that they made where the person responsible for booking them obviously hadn’t heard the song that they would be performing and how it seemed a little controversial seeing as the event was a beauty pageant and the song was This Pretty Face. From this we go into Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over which gets the crowd going from the very first note.

Announcing that she’s going to slow it down a little, we’re treated to the beautiful Troubled Soul and Give It All Up. Once again the crowd get going with Next Big Thing. Now we’re given a tale about how she gets to travel and do different things from singing the national anthem at Hampden before the Scotland/Spain game to performing in Luxembourg with an orchestra at the weekend. This of course leads to the song from which the current album’s title is taken from, No Roots. The next song is Run which, as Amy recalls seeing The Killers in this very venue and being inspired to write the song. Again this is another singalong for the crowd. From this, they go into Spark.

Now she tells about how Glasgow always gets a bad reputation for it’s binge drinking but how, if it hadn’t been for it, that the next track would never have been born. This track is the title track to the debut album, This Is The Life. She finishes with the track What Happiness Means To Me. Again the crowd sing their hearts out and at some points one would swear that Amy was about to start crying. At the end of this, she shouts goodnight and herself and the band leave the stage. It doesn’t take long before the chants of ‘Amy! Amy!” begin. Soon, she returns to the stage and performs her version of Bruce Spingsteen classic Born To Run. This once more has the crowd singing along with her at the top of their voices. The final song of the night is Let’s Start A Band which brings the night to close on a high.

Overall, the night was a complete success. The songs sounded different and this is more than likely down to the inclusion of the additional band member Owen. The live versions of the songs never sound the same and some are given a little change from the album or usual version. Her chat or ‘banter’ as would be said in Scotland, broke the night up so that it wasn’t just constant music. The little anecdotes give the fan an insight into what inspires Amy to write her songs.  With a good mixture from both her albums, the set list ensured that there was something for everyone. The crowd appeared to be really enthusiastic joining in with the songs and generally having a great time.  Hopefully the rest of the tour will go just as smoothly as this night did.

Photos © Vhari Lannigan

Pete Lawrie (Official Website)
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Amy Macdonald (Official Website)
Buy @ Amazon.co.uk | Downloads @ iTunes

Amy Macdonald // Love Love (Metropolis ‘On Track’ Session) EP

Download @ iTunes

Love Love is the next single to be lifted from the album, 'A Curious Thing' and whilst this would look like the official single, this is in fact a collection of songs recently recorded straight to vinyl as part of a Channel 4 show 'On Track with Seat'.

The first track is the forthcoming single 'Love Love', which is sounding better everytime that she performs it. This is followed by the title track to her debut album, 'This Is The Life'. A favourite cover of Amy's seems to be Bruce Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark, here performed simply with vocals and guitar, making it a more intimate performance. Finally we have the first song to be released from A Curious Thing, Don't Tell Me That It's Over.

These songs could be considered as live versions rather than finished polished produced versions. But that doesn't draw away from it as Amy always sounds better live than what is heard from CD. It's obvious that the more that Amy and band play the songs, the more familiar they become with it, that each live version is unique. Maybe it's because there is a pressure here that any error that is made can't be rectified as it's 'straight to vinyl'. A lovely little addition to any fans collection.

Rating:5/5

P.s. You can see Amy performing the songs and discussing bits and bobs on Channel 4 on the 11^th October @ 12.20am

Amy Macdonald Live at Edinburgh Corn Exchange (18th August 2010)

The Edge Festival (formally known as T on the Fringe) brings well known acts and those just starting out a platform to perform to their fans in some of Edinburgh’s well known venues.

This year, Scottish singer/songwriter Amy Macdonald headlines the festival with a show in the Edinburgh Corn Exchange. For those that have never been to the venue, it’s situated just outside of the capital in Slateford. It’s split into several areas, the Exchange being the largest.

 

Although doors opened at 7pm, it wasn’t until approximately  8pm until the support act came on. This came in the form of Edinburgh singer/songwriter Alex Cornish (website here). He kicked off his set with his last single, Scotland The Brave before heading into a track called Don’t Hold Me Back.  After introducing himself, he introduced a song from his new album called The Shame. This was followed by Untied and the set rounded off with the beautiful Chimney Pots, both taken from the debut album, Until The Traffic Stops. Chimney Pots in itself is a beautiful thing to watch come together as Alex records segments of violin music there and then with the use of a loop pedal.

Having seen Alex live previously (January 2010 at Celtic Connections supporting Sandi Thom), it was nice to hear the songs as they almost appear on the album and was a differing sound to what Amy has to offer.

 

After a quick rearrangement of the stage for equipment and set up of instruments (during which event staff were handing out free water to anyone that wanted it), it was time for the main attraction for the evening.

As with many of Amy’s sets since the release of A Curious Thing, things kicked off with An Ordinary Life before heading into the rocking version of Poison Prince. After this it was a welcome and thanks for coming before introducing the forthcoming single Love Love (which she reckons we should start hearing quite soon and if we don’t, to phone and complain). Next on the list is the beautiful rocky ballad Give It All Up which was immediately followed up by Next Big Thing.

Next she introduced Youth Of Today, the song that she ever wrote and said that she still finds it strange to perform it live even now. This was followed by the debut single Mr Rock and Roll, but not before she mentioned that if she hears one of her songs on the radio that she has to listen to it as she wants to see what he DJ says about it and how when it goes straight into another song that she gets annoyed. There was also discussion regarding how someone had nominated Amy as an emergency step in model for the Ultimo Bra, which she quickly quelled any idea by saying ‘the clothes are staying firmly on’

 

Singles Run, This Pretty Face and Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over are up next followed by the ballad Troubled Soul to bring things down a little. Solo time and the audience is treated to Amy’s current cover of the moment, Born To Run. Rejoined by the rest of her band, Spark ‘s up next followed by L.A. at the end of which she if anyone makes shoes as her boot zips always end up open by the end of gig because she moves around the stage as much. Moving on, she introduces the track from which the  album name comes from (No Roots) and tells the tale of how her mother originally suggested 2010 as a title and Amy rubbished only to find Prince using it a few weeks later. Oddly enough, the crowd join instead of talking over, which has seemed to be norm at many other venues.

 

Another tale of false identity, the Wrath of Jo (aka Mum) and how the occassional binge is good for you and it’s into fan favourite This Is The Life. She brings things thing to a calming end with What Happiness Means To Me before leaving the stage for a brief moment. The crowd start chanting and it not long before she returns complete with band. She announces that she’s appearing on Ken Bruce’s Radio 2 show next week and how as part of it they’ve to perform a cover of a great British song. For this, they’ve chosen Aztec Camera’s Somewhere In My Heart and apologises as this is the first time that they’ve properly played it so there might be mistakes. If there was, it wasn’t noticed. The evening finished on a high with Let’s Start A Band.

 

Overall it was a fantastic night with Amy appearing to feed off the energy of the crowd and band. Breaking the songs up with her little tales (which also included finding a more alcoholic country than Scotland and the nerves about dueting with Ray Davies), she also showed that she’s aware of what’s happening with the crowd, enquiring live from the stage about someone who had fainted before continuing with the set.  The set was a great mixture of all her material, ensuring that there was something for everyone. There is one thing though; although she might have sold over 3 million records worldwide, she can’t play hide and seek as she was spotted before appearing on stage.

 

And as for the crowd: it seems that now the songs have been out for a while that more people are willing to join in making the night almost like one huge night of karaoke.

 

Of course, while the evening was about the music, it also comes down to the event staff, responsible for making sure that everyone has a great time safely. They continued to hand out water to anyone that wanted it throughout the set and acted quickly to ensure that the person who took unwell was taken away and looked after.  A successful night for all concerned.

 

Photos © Vhari Lannigan

 

Alex Cornish (Official Website)
Until The Traffic Stops
Buy @ Amazon.co.uk  | Download @ Amazon.co.uk
Download @ iTunes

Call Back
Buy @ Amazon.co.uk | Download @ Amazon.co.uk
Download @ iTunes

Amy Macdonald (Official Website)
This Is The Life
Buy @ Amazon.co.uk | Download @ Amazon.co.uk
Download @ iTunes

A Curious Thing
Buy @ Amazon.co.uk | Download @ Amazon.com
Download @ iTunes

Amy Macdonald // iTunes Festival 2010

 

On the 16th July, Amy Macdonald graced the stage at the Camden Roundhouse to perform a 13 song set of which, 6 appear in this new EP allowing fans who attended in person or those fans who watched online can relive the night

The 6 tracks consist of 2 from the debut album This Is The Life and 4 from present album A Curious Thing. Of the 6 there are 4 singles (Poison Prince, Mr Rock & Roll, Spark and This Pretty Face (Current single)). Overall the tracks are good selection from the nights set and gives the listener a look at how people perceived the event on the night.

It’s obvious that Amy is now fully comfortable with the material from the new album (early lives of the new album would showcase a nervousness, probably from the fact that it was new material and she wasn’t sure how fans would react) and bringing in old fan favourites is a guaranteed sing-along

Nice little selection for Amy’s first iTunes Festival appearance and hopefully it won’t be the last. Sadly lacking in a digital booklet that would have been nice to have photos from the night. However it is about the music so lets not complain

Rating: 5/5

Amy Macdonald // This Pretty Face

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iTunes Exclusive Bundle

This Pretty Face is the 3rd single to be taken from the current album A Curious Thing and is the 1st single to be given a physical release in the UK.

Focusing on the celeb driven culture that we live in, the song is a dig at the world being concerned about how people look outwardly and what they are rather than looking at who they are and what they have on the inside. It’s a great little tune that will soon have you singing along with the chorus before long.

Also included in this release is the W14 acoustic version of Give It All Up (if you’ve heard previous W14 acoustic versions, you already know what to expect), a live version of the Bruce Springsteen track Born To Run (beautifully performed by Amy who makes the song her own) and a remix of Spark by world famous DJ, Tiesto (and it’s one of the better, if unexpected remixes of the song out there)

Overall, the single choice so far from this album has shown the differing styles that’s of the album and this is no exception. It’s very radio friendly and is definitely one of the highlights from \A Curious Thing.

p.s. The physical release will contain a poster featuring all the photos submitted to Amy’s Fan Wall over the last few weeks

Rating: 5/5

Amy Macdonald // Spark

Download @ Amazon.co.uk | Download @ iTunes

Spark is the second single to be lifted from the current album A Curious Thing. Whilst maybe not the strongest of tracks when compared to the rest of the album, on it’s own, it’s not too bad. The song itself is inspired by those who get on with life after coming through tragedy or difficult times in their life and possibly provide some kind of hope that things will be alright.

The song itself isn’t one of the strongest songs when compared to the rest of the album, however, on it’s own it' isn’t just as bad. Maybe the theme of the song is quite appropriate since we are now entering the season of charity events…

Rating: 4/5

Amy Macdonald // A Curious Thing

 
Standard Edition
Buy @ Amazon.co.uk | Download @ Amazon.co.uk
Download @ iTunes

Deluxe Edition
Buy @ Amazon.co.uk | Download @ iTunes

Vinyl
Buy @ Amazon.co.uk

Amy Macdonald with what some would describes as the 2nd difficult album, especially after how well the debut, This Is The Life did. Can this second helping from the Scottish singer/songwriter topple this?

Once again, Amy draws on everyday events to inspire her songs and the lyrics reflect this. The opening track and lead single, Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over throws you straight into the album with it’s powerful electric guitar opening and Amy’s powerful lyrics reflecting on how we can change things before it over but how we have to do it for ourselves. No Roots is an odd little track. It starts of acoustic before building into a full scale, multi-instrument track (reminiscent of the song Let’s Start A Band from This Is The Life).

Love Love  could be viewed as Amy’s first attempt at a love song and is purely a fun little number. An Ordinary Life (one of the last songs to be added to the album) was inspired after attending her first film premier and seeing how everyone reacted and being glad that she does have An Ordinary Life. My Only One is a beautiful ballad which is, as Amy has said, about losing people who are close to you.

The tempo and mood are lifted with This Pretty Face, which is a dig at the world being concerned about how people look outward rather than looking at who they are, not what they are. Next Big Thing is another dig at the music industry and how, throughout the year new artists are topped as the next big thing, and most after one song or album fade into obscurity. The closing track (What Happiness Means To Me) rounds the album off beautifully, starting off quietly ballad like building to a climax, leaving the next chapter to be written.

Overall, it is a good album, but some tracks feel a little unfinished or unpolished. This may have been the look they were going for but it just feels slightly awkward. There are a few good tracks but not many that are likely to single material. If feels like a natural progression for her although it may leave some fans divided as it does have a completely different feel from This Is The Life. Only time will tell whether or not it can do any better than the debut.

Rating: 4/5

Amy Macdonald // This Is The Life (Japan)

Buy @ CDJapan | Buy @ YesAsia.com

Where do you start with this album? Amy Macdonald is another of Scotland’s musical exports who writes her own songs and plays her own instrument (that being the guitar). The songs have appealed to a wide age range are very much about topics that most people could probably relate to from being yourself, friendship, the love of music, forbidden romance and the celebrity-obsessed culture that we live in today. That’s not to say that people can’t take their own opinion of what her songs are trying to say.
Songs of highlight are Barrowland Ballroom (a song about a famous venue in Glasgow and about the experiences that everyone who have played there have had), Mr Rock N Roll (all about being happy to be yourself and not wanting to fit in), This Is The Life (about friendship and the good times you can have with friends), L.A. (another track about being happy with yourself but being prepared to follow your dreams, whatever they may be), Run (a track inspired by The Killers) and Poison Prince (a plea to Pete Docherty about getting off the drugs and writing the fantastic lyrics he’s known to write).
Also on this version is Amy’s version of Caledonia, or a shorter version of it (originally a hidden track on the UK release) as well as two live tracks (Mr Brightside (Cover of the Killer’s track) & Mr Rock N Roll) recorded at the world famous King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, and the B-side to Amy’s very first release, Rock Bottom. All in all, her lyrics seem to emanate a wisdom beyond her youth, and seems to be able to connect with most people, whether they can relate their experiences to what Amy’s intended or find their own. It’s hard to find anyone these days who can pull off what can only be deemed as folk rock well, but Amy is one of these artists. A wonderful album that shouldn’t be missed.
Rating 5/5