Blunt Proves He's More Than A Crooner

Blunt Proves He's More Than A Crooner
Tampa Tribune - Tampa,FL,USA
... vastly different beasts. And if James Blunt seems tame on disc, he proved to be a far more energetic animal in concert. The gauzy ...
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CLEARWATER - The stage and the studio create vastly different beasts. And if James Blunt seems tame on disc, he proved to be a far more energetic animal in concert.

The gauzy production of Blunt's one and only album, 2005's "Back to Bedlam," presents him as a damp and dour balladeer. Freed of that and backed by a tight four-piece band, Blunt proved there's more to his music than his inescapable hit "You're Beautiful."

Still, it's likely that the popularity of that song was the main reason his Friday night show at Ruth Eckerd Hall sold out well in advance. A heavily female crowd of 1,942 greeted his every move with shrieks (and occasionally moans) of delight.

Blunt was self-effacing and charming, poking fun at his high voice and introducing "Goodbye My Lover" as a "really miserable song."

He wasn't wrong. In fact, the song is so overwrought that it could be a "Saturday Night Live" parody. But, as an audience member pointed out, "Women love this [stuff]," and she joined presumably every woman in the crowd in a standing ovation.

Far better were "Out of My Mind," which rode in on ominous organ, a splendidly rocking "So Long, Jimmy," and an unexpected and enjoyable version of Slade's "Coz I Luv You."

"No Bravery" was made striking by footage of Kosovo, where Blunt was stationed as a British soldier in 1999. He apologized for the shaky quality of the video, but the amateur quality made it all the more poignant.

The encore featured, inevitably, "You're Beautiful," and another cover, The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?"

Singer-songwriter Toby Lightman opened with a set of R&B-inflected pop, most impressive on the soulful "My Sweet Song."