Paloma Faith
Paloma Faith
Academy
March 19, 2010
“You’ve multiplied like Gremlins,” says Paloma Faith, marvelling at the size of her sold out crowd. “It’s like I poured water on you last time I was here.”
The statement, like the show, feels like the giddy steps of a singer whose star is very much in the ascendant. Since debuting last year with the frenetic Stone Cold Sober (which, to the delight of the crowd, was the second song in this set), the eccentric Hackney-born starlet has set herself out as a little different from the rest of the pop soul pack.
Her look is retro glamour, her sound is pinched from jazz, soul and the blues, but the whole package feels fresh.
Tonight’s show is full of wilfully quirky moments. She may cover The Beatles, but she does the relatively obscure You Never Give Me Your Money, not one of the hits. Elsewhere, she played a remix of her own Upside Down, adding surging ‘80s synths and a robotic beat.
Floating around a stage decked out with giant, art-deco inspired structures, Faith’s theatrical background (she’s an actress, a former burlesque dancer and magician’s assistant) is apparent.
She’s at ease when addressing the crowd, and joked with the audience about wearing the same puffed-out, tiger-print dress she had on GMTV that morning, although, as it turned out, it was merely the first of three equally outlandish ensembles.
Later, she pulled a man from the audience, sat him on stage and serenaded him in a knowing, role-reversed take on Barry Manilow’s favourite trick. He seemed to enjoy it too.
The show wrapped up with a final costume change (this time into a Stars and Stripes suit), a cover of Etta James’s At Last, and, inevitably, Faith’s own ode to the much sung-about city, New York.
She belted it out like she was going down with the Titanic: a fine finale for a show that made the most of its surroundings. The Academy’s big black box was shiny, glittery and glam for this one night.
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Paloma’s vision and talent for stage craft is both fun an…