Friday, November 04, 2005

London - Madeleine Peyroux

We snatch a couple of hour's worth of zee's and toddle up to the Barbican via Victoria and District tubes, and have a very well constructed salad. Then, fighting off jet-lag, stagger into our assigned seats. Which are - praise the InterWeb and ticket scalpers! - in the front row, centre stage. That's approximately 4 metres from the singer.

Who (the supporting act is entirely forgettable) is fabulous. Troubled (read the Grauniad piece), but fabulous. A great keyboards man, complete with vintage electronic organ and Leslie speaker, horn player, violinist, bass and drums as backing. Very quiet, intensely swinging jazz feel. Superb vocals from Miss Peyroux, and most songs are from the latest album (Careless Love). She does sound as though she has lived it all. A simply gorgeous night. Peak experience. We miss all the names of the backing group (announced last, obscured by foldback speaker noise plus audience wild applause throughout). Look for reviews but nothing sensible as yet.

Back via District Tube (how quickly the old patterns like Tube station sequences reassert themselves!). Ecstasy. The feeling, not the pill.

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