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Setlist
Tour Dates
11/12/13 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
11/13/13 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue 11/15/13 Seattle, WA The Neptune 11/15/13 Seattle, WA Sonic Boom Records 11/16/13 Portland, OR Roseland Theater 11/18/13 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore 11/19/13 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues 11/21/13 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern 11/22/13 Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues Read More
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Question: When was the last time you saw the headlining act of a show also handle Coat Check duties?
Answer: Never…and probably never again, and that’s part of how UK soul-pop songstress Jessie Ware endeared herself to the Minneapolis crowd in attendance for Saturday night’s show at the Varsity Theater.
Fellow Londoners The Invisible opened with a taut 40 min. set of self-described 'Experimental Genre-Spanning Spacepop', leaning on extended instrumental passages and cuts from their latest, 2012’s Rispah (on Ninja Tune).
The trio, helmed by Dave Okumu (w/Tom Herbert on bass/synths and Leo Taylor on drums) was Mercury Prize nominated for their first album, and continues to stretch sonically with a unique mix based in classic rock and jazz, with a foothold in today’s tribal but modern beats and synth overtones. Okumu’s influences range from Eric Clapton to George Benson to Robert Fripp, which shows in his guitar work, as well as in his co-collaborating with Jessie Ware on her own debut.
Focusing primarily on songs from her first full-length, Devotion (on PMR Island/Cherrytree), Ware’s sound in the most simplest of terms can be described as this equation: [Sade - Adele, + The Invisible, cos x Moyet & Jessie J]. That is, take the smooth r&b of a Sade, with the beats of future-garage producer SBTRKT with the heartache songs and near-range of an Adele, with cosine bits of singers like Alison Moyet and Jessie J thrown in for good measure. In other words, a winning combination.
Ware entered onto a darkened stage for her 60 min. set, three-piece band grooving to the opening ‘No to Love’, which then melded into Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Want You’. She seemed playfully taken aback by the loud response given, and would also mention the in-store performance she did earlier in the day, making particular note (by name) of several fans that she was able to chat with then.
People swayed in rhythm to ‘If You’re Never Gonna Move’ (aka ‘110%’ outside the US), but following which, Ware noticed something was holding the audience back from outright dancing. “I’m going to take this off you, because you have to hold it” she gestured to a person in front, taking their coat to side-stage, then asking “is there anyone else?” which spurred a coat check wave of 15-20 garments Ware was juggling. “I want tips at the end!” she mentioned as people laughed, now able to dance without heavy layers encumbering their movements while she and band fired up a beat-driven ‘Sweet Talk’, which had the crowd two-stepping in time by song’s end.
A sparse but elegant ‘Devotion’ followed, then a “song about my little brother”, ‘Taking in Water’, which was obviously personal from Ware’s emotive delivery. She then reprised a lovely cover of Bobby Caldwell’s ‘What You Won’t Do for Love’ (a song performed at the in-store as well) which prompted a shout of “Marry Me!”, from a crowd member. Ware, without breaking stride, replied “I’m taken, sorry!” showing off her ring in mid-verse.
‘Imagine with Us’ mimicked Michael Jackson’s ‘Rock with You’ beat and moved into UK producer Julio Bashmore’s ‘Battle for Middle You’, who also helped on her record. Dave Okumu, from the Invisible was brought back out for the remainder of the set, beginning with Ware’s biggest hit, ‘Wildest Moments’, a song we found out at the in-store, was inspired by her good friend/flatmate…and a food fight. Seeing the finish line, she solidly ended with ‘Running’, “I want to see you all up!” she commanded, which everyone from the floor to the reserved tables complied with.
Perhaps in a tip of the hat to Prince (who is self-admittedly a Ware fan), the encore began with a refined cover of his co-penned ‘Love, Thy Will Be Done’ that Martika recorded over 20 years ago. “Let’s get lost together”, she sang in new song, ‘True Believers’, which ended the too-short set, Ware connecting with a confident presence as a performer and the comfortable personality qualities of a humble friend.
Those that missed this surprisingly not-sold-out show will likely be kicking themselves in a year or two, realizing they had the perfect chance to see the local debut of a singer so clearly on the rise, with much more ahead of her. Those that were there, left impressed, smiling, and glowing.
Answer: Never…and probably never again, and that’s part of how UK soul-pop songstress Jessie Ware endeared herself to the Minneapolis crowd in attendance for Saturday night’s show at the Varsity Theater.
Fellow Londoners The Invisible opened with a taut 40 min. set of self-described 'Experimental Genre-Spanning Spacepop', leaning on extended instrumental passages and cuts from their latest, 2012’s Rispah (on Ninja Tune).
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The Invisible
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Focusing primarily on songs from her first full-length, Devotion (on PMR Island/Cherrytree), Ware’s sound in the most simplest of terms can be described as this equation: [Sade - Adele, + The Invisible, cos x Moyet & Jessie J]. That is, take the smooth r&b of a Sade, with the beats of future-garage producer SBTRKT with the heartache songs and near-range of an Adele, with cosine bits of singers like Alison Moyet and Jessie J thrown in for good measure. In other words, a winning combination.
Ware entered onto a darkened stage for her 60 min. set, three-piece band grooving to the opening ‘No to Love’, which then melded into Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Want You’. She seemed playfully taken aback by the loud response given, and would also mention the in-store performance she did earlier in the day, making particular note (by name) of several fans that she was able to chat with then.
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Photo of Setlist
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A sparse but elegant ‘Devotion’ followed, then a “song about my little brother”, ‘Taking in Water’, which was obviously personal from Ware’s emotive delivery. She then reprised a lovely cover of Bobby Caldwell’s ‘What You Won’t Do for Love’ (a song performed at the in-store as well) which prompted a shout of “Marry Me!”, from a crowd member. Ware, without breaking stride, replied “I’m taken, sorry!” showing off her ring in mid-verse.
‘Imagine with Us’ mimicked Michael Jackson’s ‘Rock with You’ beat and moved into UK producer Julio Bashmore’s ‘Battle for Middle You’, who also helped on her record. Dave Okumu, from the Invisible was brought back out for the remainder of the set, beginning with Ware’s biggest hit, ‘Wildest Moments’, a song we found out at the in-store, was inspired by her good friend/flatmate…and a food fight. Seeing the finish line, she solidly ended with ‘Running’, “I want to see you all up!” she commanded, which everyone from the floor to the reserved tables complied with.
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Jessie Ware
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Those that missed this surprisingly not-sold-out show will likely be kicking themselves in a year or two, realizing they had the perfect chance to see the local debut of a singer so clearly on the rise, with much more ahead of her. Those that were there, left impressed, smiling, and glowing.
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Jessie Ware at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (11/10/13) |
