It’s not often that a singer can make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
But then again Paolo Nutini is not just any old singer.
With a voice that stirs something deep in the soul, the 35-year-old Paisley native sent the 1500-strong sell-out crowd wild as he took to the stage following a long hiatus from the spotlight.
A break away from the limelight has clearly done Nutini the world of good as his distinctive gravelly voice prompted deafening chants of “we love you Paolo” from the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd to which he replied: “I love you too.”
Caressing the microphone, eyes closed in trance-like focus, Nutini looked dishevelled yet dapper in a red and black striped top, denim shirt and denim trousers.
Singing his poetic heart out in his rousing repertoire from Last Night in the Bittersweet, his first and most recent album in eight years.
Eight years since last album
A lot can happen in eight years and for Paolo, he has matured as a musician.
Still catering to the ballad-hungry masses – with songs such as the catchy Through The Echoes and Shine A Light – Paolo really comes into his own with his darker more distorted rock style.
Longer tracks like Afterneath, a psychedelic-style rock song which samples a passage from Quentin Tarantino’s 1993 film True Romance, are also rapturously received.
The Mick Jagger Swagger
Taking time to make friends with the audience, Nutini proves that it’s not just his voice that has charisma.
And with advancing years comes the Mick Jagger swagger which Nutini has perfected it to a T.
Swagger or not, it’s Nutini’s raw and rousing voice and enigmatic stage presence that electrifies the crowd.
Particularly special was his performance of Everywhere, a simply stunning track taken from his new album.
Building up slowly to a crescendo, Nutini has the audience in the palm of his hands as he belts out beautiful lyrics like “And I love you like a song, yes I love you and without you I wander.”
‘Oh he was amazing’
Moving away from pop music to embrace longer and more structured songs, Nutini cleverly incorporates classic rock with elements of distorted rock to dramatic effect.
In a gracious nod to his past, Nutini also sang stripped-back versions of his back catalogue such as Candy and Jenny Don’t Be Hasty.
Blowing a kiss to the crowd as he left the stage, people (including me) look genuinely upset that the show is over.
But with his strong affinity to Aberdeen – “It’s been a while since I played The Lemon Tree” – it’s clear that Nutini enjoyed his come back to the north-east.
Standing patiently in the taxi queue afterwards, we met some fellow gig goers who were blown away by Nutini’s performance.
“Oh he was amazing, hopefully he’ll be back soon,” exclaimed one.
We couldn’t agree more.
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