Review: James Blunt at the Manchester Apollo

Review: James Blunt at the Manchester Apollo
Rundown - Scarborough,UK
Brit Award™ winner James Blunt proved he isn't just a boring pop star who sings 'like a girl' and only appeals to 'bored housewives' by raising the roof on ...

Brit Award™ winner James Blunt proved he isn't just a boring pop star who sings 'like a girl' and only appeals to 'bored housewives' by raising the roof on the Carling Apollo last night, his 29th birthday.

The ex-Army officer had hundreds of screaming fans (including several fully grown, builder-like men) watching in awe as he strummed his way ruthlessly through songs from his best selling album 'Back to Bedlam'.

He started the night with renditions of 'Billy' and 'High' as the crowd got in the mood, singing along loudly.

This is a man who has sold more than 5.5m copies of his album and is friends with Elton John and yet he still looked overawed by the reception he received from the grateful audience.

The concert was surely a surprise to everyone who attended expecting a solemn affair as Mr Blunt belted out tunes with the help of a backing band featuring drums, electrics and keyboards.

In fact solemnity only came on two occasions, firstly when the lights dimmed and the crowd hushed for a emotional performance of 'Goodbye My Lover' introduced with the words: "I know you've all come out to have a good time so I'm going to do a really miserable song."

The second time was towards the end when he sat alone at his piano, the lights dimmed and he crept into the heart-rending 'No Bravery' while a video screen played images of peacekeepers in Kosovo – the job James was doing before he made the big time.

It was the way the mood dropped for this song which established just how good he is, people who had previously been rocking along to lively tracks such as 'So Long Jimmy' and 'Wisemen' were now stood silently watching the screen, everyone realising this was a special moment. Some of the builders even shed a small tear.

The entertainment lasted about an hour which wasn't surprising considering he only had one album worth of hits although he did treat us to some snippets from his next, even saying at one stage: "The last few times I've played this song, I've forgotten the words. The worst thing is you haven't heard it before either so you're f**k all use to me."
Of course, 'You're Beautiful' was saved for the encore as phones went into the air and couples gazed lovingly at one another enjoying the moment which was, by the way, beautiful.

Although the performance was short and sweet, it was enough to establish James Blunt as a big-hitter on the World music scene, and it was amazing to see a star such as himself still so pleased and awestruck by the passion and dedication of his fans.

The support act for the gig was Grammy Award® winning American, Jason Mraz repaying the favour after James supported him across the pond. He was joined on stage by Toco Rivera who played bongo in accompaniment and made the occasional joke.

The crowd seemed impressed with Mraz in general but struggled with not knowing his big hits such as 'Geek in the Pink' and 'You and I Both' but he looks likely to succeed here as he has his own gig lined up at the Apollo in May (www.ticketrush.co.uk).

All in all it was a good, solid performance from both acts and everyone around seemed to love it. Although short, it satisfied and left us all hungry for the next instalment of the former NATO peacekeeper we call James Blunt.