Live
Lewis Capaldi
02 Academy Brixton, London
November 29 2019
Words: Izzy Butler
Pictures: Martin Cox
It wasn't perhaps quite the impact he wanted to make on London and his fans, but 23-year-old Glaswegian singer-songwriter battled gamely as his throat began to lose cease up and his usual husky vocals started to croak and fade. Perhaps not surprising, given his copious work load over the last 12 months, which has also accolades bestowed on him from a BRITs Critics’ Choice inclusion to a Grammy nomination, and not least an acclaimed debut album, 'Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent', one of the biggest-selling releases of the year.
Playing to 5,000 people a sold-out Brixton Academy should have therefore topped off his successful year nicely, if only the dreaded voice demons hadn't been up to no good. But that didn't stop his die-hard fans getting behind him and giving him the kind of welcome his nemesis Noel Gallagher could expect.
He's a likeable chappy, with a droll sense of humour, and an un-starry dressed-down sense of style that cloaks his cuddly frame, that at times has him looking out of place on this cavernous stage in front of a backdrop with his name displayed in large capitals; confetti cannons and pyrotechnics playing incongruous partners to songs like starter, the heart-tugging 'Grace', the toxic relationship ode, 'Don't Get Me Wrong', and the song he says is "one of the most personal I’ve ever written", and which was inspired by the aftermath of his aunt taking her own life, 'Before You Go'.
"This has meant a lot to me regardless of how I’ve sounded," he says at one point. "My voice is fucked, I love you all very much. Thanks very much for coming."
Debut single 'Bruises (“I hope I never lose the bruises that you left behind") is an old favourite that brings sing alongs, as the crowd help out their idol, word perfect. By last number, the ballad 'Someone You Loved', the crowd's input are needed more than ever as his voice finally gives in, and he leaves the stage after a sterling effort against all the odds - and probably for a large mug of hot lemon and honey.
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