Rag 'n' Bone Man
So where to start is the first question…. Rag ‘n’ Bone Man has a massive voice. I fell in love with it as soon as “Human” was released as a single, and though his music wasn’t to my personal taste, I felt I just had to hear it in the raw, warts and all, but enough about that for now….
The first act on the bill was Max White (or Colgate Max White™ as he affectionately referred to himself). It’s hard to get a crowd on side so early in a gig, but he managed it. The venue was only half full at this stage (personal opinion, who buys tickets for a show only to turn up when the headliner is on?), but Max was undeterred, and proceeded to deliver his set impeccably. Watch out for this guy, seriously….
Second support came from Emily Burns, who, rather understatedly, held the crowd in the palm of her hand. Her brother attended the UEA as a student, and Emily made a point (possibly regrettably so) about having drunk 3 litres of cider on her previous visit to Norwich (a pretty impressive feat imho). Her laid back attitude was highlighted whenever she dropped an f-bomb, and the crowd laughed. As someone of a certain age, I did wonder wtf she was on about when she gave someone a PDA ( I had a Psion 3 if you’re old enough to remember). It turns out that PDA means “Public Display of Affection“, and not “Personal Digital Assistant.” F**K I’m OLD!!!!
So, onto the main event…. Rag ‘n’ Bone Man is an intimidating figure. I’m not going to lie, he towers above me, because I’m only ikkle. That said, it takes a big person to harbour such a massive voice. Was his performance without fault? No, not really, but then perfection is rarely attained. There were a few wobbles, and a few sound issues, but passion and delivery are everything, and this was handed out in spades. With an assortment of new and old, the setlist appealed to everyone. My personal highlight was “Alone” from the new album, but honestly, this was a performance “from the heart,” and that’s exactly where music should come from.
It’s not something you hear, it’s something you feel!
