Live Review

Jamie Woon – Deaf Institute, Manchester

• 8th Mar 2011

It took him a while, but by the end Jamie Woon had the packed Saturday night crowd of Manchester’s Deaf Institute in the palm of his hand.

Tonight’s show is likely to be the last chance we get to catch the rising Brit tunesmith in such a charismatic venue as the deaf institute. The buzz around him – helped by a lofty placing on BBC’s ‘Sound of 2011’ poll – indicates that larger venues may be calling him.

And Jamie will need little help making the step-up, having shown himself to be far from overwhelmed on recent big-venue tours with the likes of Amy Winehouse.

That said, Jamie Woon’s endearingly shy demeanour and minimal between-song banter initially leaves tonight’s crowd even colder than they had been outside on those famously blustery Manchester streets. For large portions of the early part of the set, the crowd seemed to have been taking cues from Manchester City fans, who have apparently decided that a good way to show appreciation is to stand with your back to the action.

Admirably though, Jamie Woon is content to ‘let the songs do the talking’, gradually winning the crowd over with the beautiful fragility of his music, and the effortlessly evocative qualities of his voice. And, as if being able to sing and have good hair wasn’t enough, Jamie managed to find time to whip out a guitar and serenade us with six strings for a while.

By the time the ethereal Night Air dropped, the crowd were in raptures, and space began to open up as people began to actually move. Now it truly felt like a show – rather than a sixth form common room – with people front and back, sat in the stalls or up in the balcony, all equally rapt by the magic of Jamie Woon’s voice.

Encoring with his upcoming single – the fantastic, Lady Luck – gave the evening a satisfying coda, while also leaving the crowd with the distinct knowledge that they had not heard the last of Jamie Woon.

Jamie’s debut album – Mirrorwriting – is available for purchase from the eleventh of April. I strongly recommend purchasing it and catching this guy on tour as soon as possible.