Narc. Magazine Online
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Damian Robinson sees a confident stage performance with a low-key, respectful attitude from Fionnuala Bradbury and Sabine McCalla
Image by Damian Robinson
Providing a lovely opening, it’s Jazzy acoustic folk star Fionnuala Bradbury who starts tonight’s show with a set focused on her warm, lush vocals. With a style not too distant from the more rootsy, acoustic, aspects of Amy Winehouse’s debut Frank, Bradbury shines brightest when her acoustic accompaniment is kept to a minimal and her vocals are allowed to sparkle. A similar(ish) style is chosen by tonight’s headliner Sabine McCalla who is out on the UK shores promoting her debut album Don’t Call Me Baby.
Playing to a sold out room, McCalla mixes her confident stage performance with a low-key, respectful attitude, introducing each song with a back story and talking us through everything from her lockdown lifestyle to where certain songs were formed. Opener Deep River provides an early high point, introducing us to McCalla’s style of playing gentle, slow, plucking guitar lines (on her electric hollow body guitar) whilst building on them with strong, melancholic vocal lines. She has, at times, the saddest tone in her delivery but filled with life and emotion. She’s fantastic. Could You Be Love, I Don’t Want To Do Anything Without You, Sunshine Kisses and Tall Lonesome Cowboy all stand out in a show demonstrating fine songwriting skills, and even finer vocal delivery skills. If this is the standard of her show then her album will be well worth the wait.
