By Belinda Boakye
8th
August 2005
The
sun was out at Somerset House welcoming back Craig David and his
brand new material after a two year break. The antiquated venue was
perfect to house the throng of fans anticipating an evening of fresh funky
beats and the show did not fail to disappoint.
The
crowd was aroused by the vocal talents of Leela James as a
supporting act. The little diva with a lot of attitude cranked up the
volume with her eight-piece band, filling the stage with a fusion of
upbeat funk and soul driven numbers. Initially, she only appeared to take
a breath from her vocal acrobatics (similar to the styles of Faith
Evans and Nikki Costa) to allow her backing singers to spray up
her impressive afro, but after playing with the crowd a bit, the American
artist slowed down the pace with two sultry blues ballads revealing the
extent of her vocal range. Finishing with the classic gospel sounding
title track of her new album, ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’, one can be
sure that Leela James is a name that will be hot in the UK in the not too
distant future.
Our
appetites had been whet in anticipation for the main event. From the
darkness of backstage, Craig David teasingly hummed the first notes of his
new comeback single, ‘All The Way’, sending an excited shockwave
rippling through the crowd. The bass line dropped as the lights came up,
and he glided to the front of the stage dressed all in white and looking
slicker than ever. Although this first album track is not as edgy as it
could be, it is a strong commercial effort which, when played live, served
to get the crowd going and reminded us of what Craig is all about.
His
set continued with a varied mix of classic signature tracks like ‘Seven
Days’ and ‘Rise and Fall’. There was also the interweaving of a
taste of his new material, which had a distinctly more acoustic based
influence to its sound. David preceded these songs with detailed
explanations of their inspirational sources, such as relaying his painful
experiences of bullying as a teenager on ‘Johnny’, and his ode to
lovers lost on ‘Don’t Love You No More’. This interaction with the
crowd revealed a pleasantly surprising depth of character, which he has
kept deftly hidden in his public persona so far.
The
live performance was flawless on a technical level as David’s vocal
ability never faltered. He delivered the goods demonstrating he still had
his emcee talents on ‘Spanish’ and ‘Rewind’ and made special note
to declare his love for London in the face of the recent terrorist attacks
by dedicating one of his new uplifting guitar-based tracks,
‘Hypnotic’, to the women of London and the UK. All too soon it was
over and the lights came up on the crowd as he performed his last song
‘Take ‘Em Off’, uniting the performer with his fans.
This showcase of Craig David’s long awaited new material was well worth it and his form is better than ever. Be sure to check out his new album, ‘The Story Goes’, which is released on August 22nd.
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