The Italian-Scot soul siren Paolo Nutini brightened up Cape Town last week at the magical Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
I had the pleasure of having my heart filled with the raspy blues of Paolo on Wednesday. Dusk was warm and my picnic scattered amongst translucent clouds and good company. I am proud to say I was a member of the crowd that popped Paolo's performance cherry on an African stage.
He was, as expected, a formidable performer. He's an artist in every essence of the word -- which for me, entails a palpable presence on a stage, a taste for whiskey and red wine to amplify that presence, and a love for every lyric sung and the ears that they fall upon.
Add a sprinkle of These Streets gems reinvigorated with the slow-aged blues rhythm and rock sound he has developed nine years later, some Lauryn Hill and MGMT covers just to enlighten the audience, and a poignant acoustic rendition of "Last Request," and you get my favorite live performance of this year so far.
SIMILAR SONGS
