Report: Rockfeedback @ iTunes Festival Night 10 Marina & The Diamonds + Paolo Nutini, 10/7/09
3/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
Visit iTunes on Facebook here - still lots of free tickets to be won!
This year, Rockfeedback is delighted to be the official blog partner for the rather exciting iTunes Festival, taking place at London's Roundhouse every night in July. Over the course of the festival, we'll not be missing a night, delivering morning-after reports on everyone from Oasis and Bloc Party to Franz Ferdinand and Kasabian playing intimate sets to fans lucky enough to have won tickets to the shows.
A tense, deathly silence falls over the packed Roundhouse venue before a dazzling Marina and the Diamonds entered with the air of charisma that only a confident, strident young pop performer could have. Marina herself is as 80's kitsch as they come; not in a cliché, Casios and skinny tie way, but in a very Kate Bush, eccentric Madonna-like way that seems somehow far more relevant. She dances on stage with oddball grace while her strangled vocal flips through 'Obsessions', 'Seventeen' and Gwen Stefani cover 'What You Waiting For', as a bemused and jubilant audience slowly drift her way, flamboyancy and all.
They're followed by headliner of the night Paolo Nutini, chart-topper and rugged indie pin-up. When somebody is as radio-friendly as Mr Nutini you might be tempted to bypass his work and flap around as though he's a James Blunt throwback, but one song into his incredible set at the Roundhouse and you know you've been misinformed. His songs are mainstream, sure, but that's not to say they don't echo great songwriting; the kind any music fan should get behind. Then there's his voice, a strong, scratchy howl that sounds as though it was found at the bottom of a whiskey bottle, half full of tears.
His band is phenomenal, and again, anybody with a fixation on folk or grassroots blues will find something to dig into here. From his aging harmonica player to the very obviously accomplished session musicians who comprise his backing band, there's no note unperfected. As a whole, the sound rips into you, and Paolo's charm and lyrical capacity settles down well for a show that could only be likened to early Faces, the pop receptivity of 'Ooh La La' not being too far from what this bright young scamp is up to. The crowd love him, the masses dance and Paolo manages to steal their attention, despite spending most of the show hunched over his microphone, eyes closed, deep in poetic thought we assume.
Artists in this article: Marina & The Diamonds
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