Lianne La Havas: Live

Lianne La Havas performed her heart out at The Old Fire Station – Bournemouth, after hospitalised with a Kidney Infection. After cancelling many tour dates due to her serious illness, Lianne La Havas restarted her tour fresher and better than ever. Her first port of call, Bournemouth, held personal significance to the 23 year-old singer as it is her mother's hometown, and her mother relished the fact by joining the crowd in supporting her.

In the tight confines of the small venue, the crowd filled up in double speed as they were lured in by support act, George Ezra's beautiful performance. The entire audience were now ready for Lianne and the band to take to the stage and be stunned by the show they were about to see...

Leaping on to the stage in gold sequinned hotpants, black tights, collared black cape and fabulous black suede heels, Lianne's enviably quirky style was the talk of the groups of girls that had come to watch. Whispers and echoes of "She looks amazing" circulated the room and exceedingly stylish band followed her on to the stage. She grabbed her guitar and eased in to her first track of the night Au Cinema. The effortlessly cool performance set the tone for the entire evening and the quality of her voice was faultless. 

The show progressed and she played her entire album, telling the story behind the tracks that were obviously results of emotional turning points in her life. Particularly where relationships were concerned being showcased by performances of songs like Lost and Found, They Could Be Wrong, Tease Me and Gone, – which is incredible on the album, but mind-blowing live! 

Her stage presence was as sparkly as the sequins on her shorts, her dazzling smile and "new best friend" persona created this relationship between herself and the audience. "This feels like a good first date, Bournemouth!" She exclaims, as the intimacy of the gig formed a sweet bond between us all. After, she performed Empty with the band showing exactly how skilled they are as musicians. The drummer performed intense "bongo-style" percussion on a wooden box, which I can't help feel must have been painful! 

One of the highlights of the show was Lianne's rendition of Jill Scott's He Loves Me, Which was effortlessly incredible, and in my opinion better than the original! The song showcased her vocal talents, stripping back the texture of the song leaving just vocals and guitar. Oozing with soul, the performance was sumptuously gorgeous and original. 

The more vivacious songs such as Is Your Love Big Enough? and Forget got the crowd going and the audience participation element of hand clapping and  singing along showed the balance in mood of the entire show. Lianne had great control over the vibe of the show, keeping it mellow and soulful in some parts, but fun and lively in others, and this shows that her talents as a performer stretch to not only being talented musically, but also showing great personality. 

After pretending to the crowd that she had finished her set, Lianne and her band came back on stage to perform an encore. The final song, Age, is one of my personal favourites on the album, and I was only too happy to be singing along to the cheeky tune. She introduced the song "Oh well, onwards and upwards..." relating to previous songs of heartbreak, perhaps referring to her new squeeze? Maybe ;) 

I couldn't choose a favourite song of the night, every single one of them was flawless and engaging, and I might even go as far to say that as intimate gigs go, this was by far my favourite.

Lianne La Havas - Is Your Love Big Enough? (Album) available now!