Paolo Nutini at Wolverhampton Civic | The Student Pocket Guide by Huma Mian 

The crowd of Wolverhampton went nuts for Nutini at his concert at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Friday as part of his current UK tour. Everyone from your younger siblings to your grandma got together to be serenaded by the powerful blues voice that is Paolo Nutini.

The Scottish born musician, aged 27, has been pleasing crowds with his soul, blues, and soft rock elements that make up his three studio albums since 2006.

The anticipation and excitement could be felt in the atmosphere from the 3000 diverse faces that made up the crowd. Any movement from the stage, even those of the sound techs, were greeted with a deafening applaud and chant for Nutini.

Before the man himself arrived on stage it was turn of fellow Scottish band Haight Ashbury, a small band of three who used an array of instruments from drums, steel guitar, bass and a tambourine to play their alternative, slightly 60’s style singles. The support act got the crowd buzzed for Nutini, who remembered to thank his fellow Scotts near the end of the show.

Starting off with a fiery version of his new single from the 2014 album Caustic love, ‘Scream’, fans begun singing along and bopping heads to the jazzy soulful beat.

During the 100 minutes on stage, Nutini took the crowd through the journey of his career by playing his old classics such as ‘New shoes,’ ‘Jenny don’t be hasty,’ and ‘Pencil Full of lead’ whereby avid fans sang word for word.

We heard the new sound expected from the talented musician from his latest studio album, Caustic Love, which features a slightly more funk & Rhythm and blues element to each track.

Nutini has shifted from the acoustic songs, which pulled at your heartstrings to a more edgy sound, but he remains faithful to his blues and old sounding basis, which his fans love him for. There are also more reggae undertones to his beats, which mixed with his voice create the perfect symphony of sounds.

His stage presence was playful and the passion for his music could be seen and heard from his raspy, raw voice that sent you Goosebumps. During his performance, he went off the stage to touch hands with screaming fans during a favourite ‘Pencil full of lead’, which the crowd adored, shouting endless calls of ‘Paolo we love you’.

Nutini showed his loving side by singing ‘Looking for something,’ written for his Mother, and asking the audience if they also had love for their mothers. His question was of course answered with a ton of screams.

Generally throughout tours the set list consists of upbeat, new and old with a slowed down section where the phone lights can be waved around and ending with powerful classics. The tempo of his set list was very sporadic, but in the greatest of ways. The audience went through a rollercoaster of emotional highs and gentle lows when Nutini came back for his encore.

A state of euphoria took over the audience during the encore when Nutini broke out into his all time classics ‘Candy’ and ‘Last request’.

There is always that one beautiful moment when the entire crowd sings their lungs out in unison while the artist takes a step back to appreciate; Nutini led the audience with a Men vs. Women sing-off during ‘Funky Cigarette’ which the crowd were more than happy to participate in.

Before ending the show, Nutini lulled around on stage for a few moments alone, giving the occasional bow but clapping with and for the audience, which created an even more heart-warming atmosphere.

The Wolverhampton Civic Hall became host to another amazing concert by the funky-blues boy with the unique feel good voice. Although he is not one to parade around a stage during a show, his passion and enjoyment for what he does is clear and there is no doubt that his latest album will be a tremendous success like the others.

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