As the night drew to a close on the second evening of Bristol Sounds 2022, it was clear that Paolo Nutini’s pencil certainly was full of lead as the 35-year-old Scot had the audience like putty in his hands during his set.
Taking place at the Lloyds Amphitheatre, Nutini, who is currently promoting his fourth studio album ‘Last Night in the Bittersweet’ (dropping on 1 July) entertained the crowd with deep, almost raspy vocals, coupled with enviable guitar playing skills.
Before he descended to the stage however, the support act came in the shape of fellow Scot, Brooke Combe, who played a set of her original songs, followed by a cover of the Arctic Monkeys’ 'Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’; something which came as a particular delight to the crowd.
Once Brooke’s act was wrapped up, excitement saturated the air as Nutini’s presence was eagerly awaited. Even a security guard could be seen pulling up an office chair, practically pressed against a window pane belonging to the Lloyds building in a bid to catch a glimpse of the singer.
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Then, as effortlessly suave as ever, Nutini sailed onto the stage a cool six minutes behind schedule.
One thing became clear as he and his band began to play, this certainly wasn’t a re-run of his greatest hits, oh no, it was more of an introduction to his shiny new music with a few alternative renditions of some old favourites. It almost felt like a rebrand for the singer if you will.
Starting off strong, Nutini launched into his set with ‘Lose It’, a track for which the music video only dropped on YouTube just over a month ago. As soon as the melody began to fill the air, people could be seen clambering out onto their balconies across the other side of the river, eager to feel like a part of the outdoor concert.
Surely Lloyds Amphitheatre must be one of the most iconic Bristolian gig settings there is. You just simply can’t beat a vista which features the harbourside, the M Shed, Wapping Wharf and The Matthew to boot, all squeezed into a miniature snapshot view of our city.
Paolo’s rich vocals continued through various songs plucked from his 2014 album, 'Caustic Love', before the rain started to pour, although it certainly wasn’t dampening the spirits of this adoring crowd.
As the sun set and the harbourside illuminated, more songs arrived from Paolo’s newest music. “Thanks for the love for the new songs” he remarked, before the stage brightly beamed in time for the next track and a plane soared overhead across the sky.
Someone in the crowd near the front shouted: “I love you”, to which Paolo smoothly replied: “I love you too” and proceeded to launch into his 2009 hit, ‘Candy’.
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At this point, a few members of the audience climbed up onto the shoulders of others, a sight that quickly dispersed after security appeared, but not before a glimpse of a man with two forearms in plaster appeared to be having the time of his life on the shoulder of his peer. It seems even a malady as severe as broken bones couldn’t stop the crowd showing their support for the singer.
Transitioning into the 8th song of the set, Paolo pulled up a stool and took a seat, surprising the crowd with ‘Coming Up Easy’ after remarking: “This song is from my second album but it’s a bit different to how you remember it”. The slow and steady chords saw couples dotted around the crowd extend their arms around each other, quite the heart-warming sight.
It wasn’t long before the dreamy rendition had finished and Paolo fist-bumped the air exclaiming: “I love you guys, man” to the crowd before he was met with a reply of a “Oh Paolo Nutini!” chant, something that will likely be ringing in the ears of the audience members for days to come.
The closest we got to ‘old school’ Paolo was a slightly different version of ‘Pencil Full Of Lead’ which would almost be unrecognisable from the 12-year-old bop if it wasn’t for the giveaway lyrics.
A few bouts of teasing of the crowd later with the singer bidding farewell, disappearing from the stage and then appearing again for ‘one more song’, we eventually reached the end of the show with the final song taking the form of another new record, ‘Shine A Light’.
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This time, the set really was drawing to a close as Paolo and the band left the stage to applause galore. It became apparent that many audience members were expecting more of his classic upbeat hits before his departure, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
However, that doesn’t detract from the fact that Nutini entirely enthralled his audience, making the show a pleasure to be a part of and giving the crowds a chance to experience brand new music which he’s seemingly poured his heart and soul into.
Bristol Sounds is back for 2022 after a two-year hiatus and Paolo’s set only marks the second day of the six-day music series. Next on the bulletin tonight is Elbow, followed by a multitude of other brilliant music acts right up until the final day of music on Monday 27 June.
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