Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy

This was an evening of live music only available to 250 people who pre-ordered Pixie Lott's new album, Young Foolish Happy , and lucky enough to win tickets - which may or may not have been everyone who pre-ordered the album, who could also make it to London on misty autumn Wednesday given the number of physical albums actually sold these days...

From Pixie Lott 2011 (Jazz Cafe)

Giving those who actually pay for music rewards such as this is a trend I really like and urge all labels and artists to adopt. It encourages people to pay for music rather than pirate it, and keeps the tickets out of the hands of the touts and resellers - no touts at all as the queue formed outside the Jazz Cafe at least an hour before the doors opened! The evening was opened by Angel, which given the audience was full of the most dedicated Pixie fans, plus one that will go to almost any live music in London, especially in venues that offer good photographic opportunities, was a brave effort - he'd clearly managed to get a few fans on the guest list, and by the end of his set may have gained a few more...

Pixie played a short set – unsurprisingly mainly from the new album. It was unfortunate, given Pixie's mainly younger fan base, that the venue’s license meant it was an 18+ event, as it would have been a perfect location for an early introduction to how good live music can be away for the large venue such as the O2 - which can support an all ages audience, but are just not the same..... It was a chance for me to hear again the new tracks from Pixie's second album – they benefitted from being stripped back even further than they had been at the HMV Forum for the Q Awards series of gigs… Stevie on the radio again being a highlight with a live standing for Stevie Wonder on the harmonica.

Set List (Pixie Lott – Jazz Cafe, 9th November 2011)

• Mama Do
• Everybody Hurts Sometimes
• Stevie on the Radio
• You Win
• Cry Me Out
• Young Foolish Happy
• All About Tonight

The difficult bridge to the second album….

The Q Awards 2011 gigs at the HMV Forum, Kentish Town, continued with Pixie Lott…

From Pixie Lott 2011

Making the jump to a second album, at the same time as the artist and their audience are maturing musically can be a tricky point in an artist’s career. Pixie is at that stage, and having finished her first headline tour last year, promoting her first album Turn It Up , this one off gig was a chance for her to try out some new material in front of a friendly audience. Being a one off it was very much stripped back, without the multiple costume changes and theatrics of the tour – allowing her musical talents to take centre stage. Of the new material, I felt Stevie on the Radio was the most successful – although whether all of those in the audience had ever heard Steve Wonder has to be asked – some of them haven’t matured as fast as Pixie’s sound has… Illustrated by the late arrivals who thought they have a right to steam to the front. It is a great argument for a well policed golden circle for those fans dedicated enough to be at the front of the queue, braving the cold onset of autumn, to get in early, they usually also forgo the bar to maintain prime spots. They might be a little naive treasuring a little space in front of them that is the envy of others.  There did appear to be two styles of material – a pop sound and a more club sound – Pixie may need to choose between the two to produce an cohesive album… Trying out new material is always a risk – but Pixie has an first album loved by her fans to fall back on and can certainly power out the tracks from that collection - Gravity when down particularly well.

Anyone treated to 2 hours of Jazz and power pop by Jamie Cullum the previous night might have felt a little cheated by the rather shorter set from Pixie – unless they’d bought their tickets via the 2 for 1 that had managed to fill the venue to a respectable extent – but Jamie is a multi-album performer with a significant catalogue – while Pixie is trying to make the jump to having multiple successful albums – judging by the new material she has a fighting chance of making that leap… Most people venturing back out in the the cold of autumn appears to be happy – perhaps with the exception of a few who’d had their hard earned views at the front stolen by a thoughtless few…