Live Review

Jack Savoretti – King Tut’s, Glasgow

• 15th Nov 2012

Jack Savoretti played for over an hour in Glasgow last night to a sell out crowd and left his many fans yelling for more. It was a good performance from the singer songwriter, whose strong voice and fine range of songs led to a very entertaining set. His music has a folky feel in the main, but there are country and rock influences too, giving him a powerful and emotional sound.

Karima Francis opened the night with a short set. Switching between two acoustic guitars she demonstrated a good vocal range, especially on a couple of the older tracks, her strong voice rising from low and powerful to high and wistful. The Remedy was the stand out, the title track from her latest album delivered emotionally. The final track Stay was also very good, the vocals slowing to a close to end the set. Despite losing the words a couple of times it was a decent performance from Francis.

Jack Savoretti and his band strode onto the stage and got right down to business. His emotionally charged voice was powerful and melodic as he delivered his poetic lyrics with great confidence. Backed by guitar, drums and double bass the vocals were clear and strong all night. Vagabond from the current album Before The Storm was an early highlight, the husky edge to Savoretti’s voice adding emphasis to his lyrics.

The large crowd was very mixed, with all ages represented. It was interesting to see whole families at the show together, indicating the wide appeal that Savoretti has. And they knew every song, picking them up from the first few bars and singing along.

There was little chat in the early section of the set, bar a quick hello and a comment about how Glasgow audiences are so much better than Edinburgh ones, which of course went down very well. Savoretti was content to let the music stand for itself and one quality song followed another. Before The Storm was lovely before a passionate Take Me Home saw the crowd taking over the vocals. And the slower Changes was quite beautiful.

Much of the set was taken from the new album, but there were a few older tracks on the set list too. Dreamers was dedicated to those who had been at previous shows, which apparently had much smaller audiences.

The band left the stage for the middle section, leaving Savoretti to play a few solo songs. Crazy Fool had a folky feel with delicate finger picking guitar. Harder Than Easy was introduced via an anecdote involving a conversation with Jackson Brown about the truth being in the detail. And a burst of Ring Of Fire was well received, a softer version than is usual heard, yet the vocals were still commanding.

The band returned for the final part of the show. The Proposal was a real highlight, a big country rocker that could easily be an Eagles outtake. Pedro Vito added some lovely lead guitar work, playing off Savoretti’s powerful acoustic very nicely. The set was closed by a fast paced and very lively version of Knock Knock.

The cries for an encore were quickly rewarded. Savoretti debuted a newly written song that had only been played to the band during the sound check, and it sounded great. Judging from the number of phones being held up at the front it is probably on You Tube already. The closing Come Shine A Light was a joyous finish to a fine nigh of music.

Jack Savoretti is a fine songwriter and he has both the voice and the stage presence to deliver his songs with real panache. This was a good show and he very much deserved the great reception he received from the crowd.

Venue: King Tut’s, Glasgow
Support Band: Karima Francis