Live Review

Paloma Faith – Vicar Street, Dublin

• 19th Mar 2010

Paloma Faith dazzled Vicar St. On Tuesday night with a pre-Patricks day treat for the Irish. The quirky songbird, accompanied by Josh Weller brought brought her first headline tour to Dublin, marking her first show in Ireland.

The 25-year-old singer has had big success in the charts since her debut last year with two top twenty singles. Known for her eccentric style and signature stilletos, Faith creates retro pop with a sprinkling of magic and a mischevious smile.

Josh Weller opened with buckets full of charm to entice and energise the crowd with his unique brand of acoustic cabaret pop. The 21-year-old from Leeds’ sound is as distinct as his style with black-rimmed glasses, modern fifties inspired suits and a head of erect black hair.

Paloma then floated onto the stage, behind feather fans like a pint-sized modern Jessica Rabbit. She opened with recognisable songs to excite the crowd, like debut ‘Stone Cold Sober’, afterwards chatting about how she adored the Dubs, saying “you have such a good sense of humour, everywhere else I go people think I’m just mad but you think i’m funny”.

Faith performed her entire album, entitled ‘Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful?’. She was note-perfect and full of amped-up energy and a wide-eyed smile from start to finish. The entire show was captivating from the 50’s swing band in matching grey suits to the three backing singers who stole the limelight with their soulful solos.

The singer channeled her influences during the performance, which she admitted she loves doing. She quietened the mood halfway through with a stripped down Billie Holiday number and concluded the show with a breathtaking encore of Etta James’ ‘At Last’. From burlesque performer to actress, Paloma’s past influences every bit of her appeal – the fashion, the husky yet sweet vocals and the theatrics of her performance.

Paloma knows how to put on a show and failed to disappoint with her Irish debut, her fourth single ‘Upside Down’ is out now in shops and on digital download. The singer has also announced a very special summer performance in the Iveagh Gardens on July 15, tickets for which go on sale this morning