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Manchester Evening News

Entertainment

Emma Gill

"You bunch of bast***s": Lewis Capaldi at AO Arena Manchester, reviewed

Lewis Capaldi AO Arena Manchester Kenny Brown

It's hard to remember a time when the world didn't know Lewis Capaldi.

Having burst onto the scene into 2017 with his first single Bruises, he's now recognised as one of the most successful artists of his generation.

Since then he's become as popular for his comedy value as much as his music, often sharing hilarious jokes and videos to his online followers.

But at Manchester's AO Arena on Wednesday night, it was the Scottish musician the crowd was there to see.

Scheduled here for just one night as part of his Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent tour, it was unsurprisingly a sell-out.

Confetti cannons covered the crowd (Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)

In fact it took just seconds for the entire UK dates to sell out when tickets went on sale in October and is probably why extra dates, including a special outdoor concert at Wythenshawe Park in August, have just been announced, with pre-sale available from today, Thursday, and general sale tomorrow. Find out more here.

It was a single from his latest album, which gives the tour its name, that he chose to open with - the sight and sound of the 17,000 plus crowd singing along to every word of Forget Me a clear sign, as if any were needed, of this guy's success.

It's the gritty hoarseness of his voice that fans love, a raspiness to those higher notes that has become his signature sound.

When he sings he sounds completely different to the Glaswegian prankster we all know and love and his voice conjures up an image of a man far beyond his tender years.

His heartfelt lyrics, often 'emotional songs, about love or loss', also seem paradoxical to the happy-go-lucky 26-year-old we see before us.

Lewis Capaldi at AO Arena (Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)

It might be a strange combination, but it works. He knows there's a sadness to much of his work - 'we're all here to cry over people that don't love us' he jokes. But the tears are mostly of laughter, with his choice of outfit, an all white ensemble, which he admits is not his wisest choice with his IBS, a source of much humour.

With his band behind him he belts out the powerful ballads we've all come to love, but it's those moments when it's just him, his raw voice echoing around the arena that his talent is truly laid bare.

We get a rare glimpse of his vulnerability too. Sharing how crazy the last five years have been for him, his rise to fame from living with his mum to 'all of this', he admits it does get on top of him - emotions he used for his How I'm Feeling Now track from the new album.

It will undoubtedly do well, his latest single Pointless has already flown into number one in the Official Charts, but it did bring a little lull to proceedings when he sang the ones nobody knows.

He told the crowd it's been a crazy five years during his rise to fame (Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)

He made a joke about that too - telling us we could blame his manager for the fact he's touring with an album that's not yet released.

"This is a new song and I hope you don’t think it’s a pile of sh**e," said the star, who despite swearing like a sailor, has fans spanning the generations.

Whether he's being the funny guy on TikTok, or the serious soloist whose tracks have become synonymous with first dances, break-ups and everything in between, he's clearly loved at every level.

I don't think anyone could burp down the mic, tell us they're 'desperate for a pi**' and call the crowd a 'bunch of bast***s', yet still be adored as much as Lewis Capaldi.

He really is the boy who can do no wrong. Ending the show with the mighty Someone You Loved, it seemed nobody wanted it to end.

Pre-sale for the outdoor show at Wythenshawe Park will go on sale on Thursday, January 19 on Ticketmaster and See Tickets, while general sale tickets will go on sale on Friday, January 20 here.