Gig Review - Marina and The Diamonds
Monday 22nd February 2010 @ The Cooler, Bristol
With Support From: Alan Pownall
On the same day that her debut album, The Family Jewels, entered the charts at a very healthy number 2, we go to see Marina and The Diamonds live at The Cooler on Park Street. On arriving, we’re handed postcards and stickers and photographed by a pretty girl who says; “Marina like’s to have pictures of her diamonds”. That’s nice.
We didn’t get to the front but the venue was intimate so I didn’t think it would effect the evening. Alan Pownall was the warm-up and was OK, if you like Jack Johnson. It was lovely to see a double bass on stage if nothing else.
Just after 9 o’clock there is a loud and friendly applause as Marina and her band fill the tiny stage. With loads of presence and power she’s promptly into the first song, Girls, confessing in her lyrics that she’s “not ladylike” and has a “filthy mind”. It’s a great, upbeat track and it’s already almost impossible not to dance! Straight into the next song which is just as dancy and then she stops to say hello. Lots of thankyous, a warm little shout out to mum who is proudly in the audience somewhere and then to announce her delight at the album’s early success.
Next some better known hits like Hollywood and I Am Not A Robot. These get a great response form the crowd. A beautiful performance of her track Numb and then the band leaves the stage and she performs a piano solo for the song Obsessions; a beautiful vocal, full of feeling confidence and truth. Right now our position in the Cooler is not so cool as due to the height of the stage (or lack of) we can only hear Marina.
On stage for a short but sweet and well-arranged 35 minutes, Marina seems comfortable singing to a crowd and I have a feeling they won’t be this small in the future. Can’t help but find it lazy to compare Marina to Kate Bush, she certainly has a powerful voice but she herself has a rare and unique sound. All in all a first-class musical experience, and yes I am now officially a diamond!
Gemma Randall
Copyright © 2008
August 24th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
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