“I think we all expected me to overshare tonight,” said Jacob Anderson, onstage at Outernet’s HERE. “It seems to be my thing.” Since he first started making music as a teenager, Anderson has used it to make sense of the world around him.
By the time he released his debut album as Raleigh Ritchie, though, the world knew him best as Game Of Throne’s viciously loyal Greyworm. Contrary to that sullen onscreen character, 2016’s You’re A Man Now, Boy was a complicated, tender exploration of growing up that saw Anderson wear his heart on his sleeve at every ambitious turn.
On Tuesday night, he played the entire record front-to-back as part of a mini 2 Nights Lonely residency. “It’s about how a little positivity can creep into the darkness and completely change things,” he explained. In honour of that, Anderson encouraged the crowd to have as much fun as possible. A giddy mix of Glass Animals-inspired indie-rock, hip-hop and funk made the demand impossible to ignore.
The show was Anderson’s first proper gig in over five years, thanks to a pandemic, a starring role in gothic horror TV series Interview With The Vampire and fatherhood, but he looked entirely comfortable onstage. He embraced all that had changed as well.
The gig started with a voice note from Anderson’s daughter that welcomed the crowd to “my daddy’s show”, while a string section dialled up the drama of swaggering opening number Werld Is Mine. The brass section made party-starting songs like Stronger Than Ever and Keep It Simple even more gleeful, as Anderson took the record to joyous new heights.
Even forgotten lyrics were turned into a positive. “F**king up is really important, otherwise you just get stuck,” Anderson said with a smirk.
As much as the whole thing was a posi-pop celebration, he never stripped away the hurt that first inspired the music. The Greatest cut fierce defiance with a prickling uncertainty, while the title track was still driven by snarling growing pains. “If anybody is in that turbulent time, you do get through it,” he promised.
Eight years later, You’re A Man Now, Boy clearly still meant a lot to Raleigh Ritchie, but the audience were just as moved by the delicate emotional sway of The Last Romance and Cowards’ hopeful perseverance.
There were cathartic singalongs and plenty of reckless dancing, with Anderson throwing himself into the crowd to join in with the feel-good chaos. “It’s been a really long time but it’s nice to know I still have some friends,” he said.
Despite playing his debut album in full, Raleigh Ritchie’s return to the stage never felt nostalgic. “In order to make new music, I have to say goodbye to these songs,” he explained, with the future looking very bright indeed.
