November 24, 7:30pm, MTS Centre.
Ohhh, I really wanted to be super cool and say "yea, whatevs dudes, James Blunt is super lame." And to be honest, if we were just talking about his music, I'd call it schmaltzy but catchy love-pop. But a friend of mine scored 4th row tickets to see Blunt live, with one of my favorite local acts opening for him, so who was I to refuse?
I am really glad I went.
I would never have expected to use words like "dynamic" or "high energy" or "spectacle" to describe a James Blunt concert. I honestly anticipated he would sit at a piano for 90 minutes and wail his standards like "You're Beautiful" while flashing his crazy eyes at the audience. And while that DID happen, it happened amid a 100 foot wall of video screens, Blunty running wild into the audience to do a session in the round, and a genuinely very charismatic performer (he embodies my favorite portmanteau: charmisma). He ended the encore with his major hit 1973, and rode a piano like a surf board under a giant disco ball before the ceiling exploded with confetti. It was CHEESY, but damn it was a good time.
Luke Doucet, who was a surprising opener, was incredible live, and did an honest-to-god autograph signing, where I met him and his incredibly talented wife Melissa McClelland, who deserves better than being his lead guitar. She opened for Matt Good's solo tour for Pete's sake.
All in all, it was an incredible, and surprising show.
***.5 out of *****
3.5 out of 5
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