As mentioned before, I didn’t go to Shepherds Bush Empire last Sunday to see Mr. Merriweather.  I stayed to watch his performance however, despite not being too familiar with his music (it was actually written down as Daniel Beddingfield on my calendar, so I think that shows how into him I am).

Yeah, I had heard Red (no idea it was sung by him though – one of those songs that had been beat into me; see Chino Deville’s interview) and was a fan of Stop Me so at least there would be a few songs to look forward to.

The stage had an almost baroque feel to it with three chandeliers hanging low and intense yellow lighting setting a rustic ambience.  This really worked when he settled down to sing a few slow numbers with his guitarist; it felt like we (well me and about 800 people) had settled down by a Christmas fire for a little singsong.  All Away For Free sat nicely during this section and was definitely one of the stand outs.

The show ended with pace, a stonking rendition of Stop Me followed by Impossible definitely lifted spirits after they began to wane following the surprise arrival of Adele to sing Fire & Water had created pandemonium early on.

He ended with a karaoke version of Red, and I think that summed up the show well.  It was harmless and nice, one for the fans to enjoy.  Props to him though because there was also something for those that knew nothing of him beyond the singles (and to be fair I did buy a few songs on iTunes on Monday).

Soulside Funk