Kicking off the 2017 Summer Series Gigs at Somerset House sponsored by American Express was Norah Jones supported by The Candles. Norah is one of the more established, and familiar names, performing this year during the 11 nights of the series of outdoor music events in the splendour of the open courtyard at Somerset House.
Opening for Norah were The Candles – the band appeared to grow with each of the early songs in their set. First a soloist, then a trio, then they where joined by a drummer and pianist, and finally by a bassist. It became apparent later – that most of the members of The Candles where members of Norah’s band. While I understand that having your backing band open for you, under another name, does keep the costs down and keep things simple while touring – but it really is a shame the opportunity wasn’t take for an up and coming London band to be given the opportunity to win more fans from amongst Norah’s adoring fans.
Beginning her European tour at Somerset House, the set began in a jazz mood, which would have graced Ronnie Scott’s, if you could take the roof off that venue.
A subtle touch on the ivories of the grand piano, which dominated the stage, during instrumental interludes in “I’ve got to see you again” proved Norah is more than just a great vocalist.
As the set progress the jazz mood was replace by a more electric sound – with the pedal steel contributing much to that.
Norah herself commented that she’d not been expecting hot and humid weather, which she likened to that in Texas where she’d grown up. Then she noted that having played at a number of outside venues recently – she always seam time one song on in the set to match the sunset – that being “Sunrise”.
After the gentle breeze, keeping the audience from over heating, caused the smells from the food stands to drift on to the stage Norah was prompted to comment “I smell sausages”, and then realise – “that will be the quote of the night”, the set the took a more melancholy turn with song like “She’s 22”.
“Night and day” moved the set back to a warmer sound and feeling, returning to the grand piano and the jazz vibe returns. The “Peace” brings the set to a crescendo, and then “The Long Day is Over” was a very appropriate way to approach the pre-encore pause.
The real end of the set was “Come away with me” – she couldn’t have left here fans without that hit.
The whole evening illustrates that a carefully constructed set list or album is why listening to music via a streaming service in a random order which hasn’t been curated in anyway, just isn’t the same as experiencing the music in the order the artist behind it intended . A live performance allows the artist to add careful transitions in mood, taking the listener on a musical journey. The other artists performing this year have a lot to follow to keep the standard up.
