Live review: Lucy Spraggan “Join The Club” album tour
Support: Shannon Saunders and Andreas Moe
Venue: O2 Academy Liverpool
Date: Thursday 7th November 2013
Reviewer: Liam Pickup
The superb Lucy Spraggan graced the stage of Liverpool’s O2 Academy on Thursday 7th November and Liverpool Acoustic was lucky enough to be there. Bringing her unique blend of Acoustic/Folk/Pop, or as some of her fans describe it “A-Flop”, Lucy comes to Liverpool to promote her brand-new album Join The Club.
Two support acts were penned for the night, the first came in the shape of YouTube sensation Shannon Saunders. Saunders is a singer-songwriter who has already received considerable support from some big names in the industry. Hotly tipped to be one of the next big artists to come out of the UK, Saunders has had the chance to work with producer Jake Gosling (no relation to Ryan). Goslings’ previous work spans artists such as Ed Sheeran, One Direction and Paloma Faith, amongst others.
With the room already packed with Lucy Spraggan fans, Saunders made her way through a set list of songs packed with emotion. Displaying a similar sort of fragility that has worked so well for the likes of Laura Marling and Birdie, Shannon stunned the room. The highlight of her set was Heart of Blue, a song that deservedly has over 500,000 views on YouTube, not bad for a video that cost £9 to make.
The second support on the night came from Swedish Folkie Andreas Moe, whose music sits somewhere amidst the sounds of artists like Ben Howard and Kodaline, with elements of Bon Iver thrown into the mix. Equipped with his acoustic guitar and bass drum, Moe’s set consisted of some serious foot stomping stuff. One highlight of his set was his superb cover of Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire. Another was his own song Volcanoes, a heated number with tons of sexual connotations. But my favourite track of his set was This Year a feel good folk pop ditty that encapsulates the sound of Andreas Moe.
Just like his Swedish counterpart IKEA, the music of Andreas Moe is addictive, stylish and whilst not being a necessity, it’s definitely more enjoyable to have it in your life.
After an interval of what seemed like a lifetime, Lucy Spraggan and band came on to the stage and sent a crowd of over 1000 fans into an absolute frenzy. Kicking things off with the dance-inducing Lighthouse the O2 erupted into plumes of incessantly girly screams. Lucy clearly has a devout following in Liverpool and they were out in force for tonight’s gig.
Most of us will have heard the name Lucy Spraggan through the X-Factor, the show on which she found fame for her distinctly witty and relevant song writing. Spraggan was hotly tipped to win the show before pulling out midway through the process due to illness. Personally, I think leaving the show early was the best thing that could have happened to Lucy. It gave her enough of a platform to ecru over 25million YouTube hits for her song Last Night (Beer Fear) whilst still allowing her to shake off that stigmatism that comes with being a previous X-Factor contestant.
Seeing Lucy Spraggan live made it so obvious as to why people find it so easy to connect with her music. Her music is a series of stories, stories about being young, about being drunk (Last Night), about travelling (In a State), stories about love, about heartache (Let Go), stories about LIFE. Everyone will feel the same way at some point in his or her lives. It’s Lucy’s openness and honesty about these emotions that makes her music so much more evocative.
Personal highlights where ’91, Tea and Toast and Blues Song. With Wait for Me providing the perfect sing a long to finish off a truly 5 star gig.
© 2013 Liam Pickup – Liverpool Acoustic
photo © 2013 Glasswerk @ glasswerk.co.uk/magazine/review/10665/Lucy+Spraggan
Lucy Spraggan
website – www.lucyspraggan.com
facebook – facebook.com/lucyspraggan
twitter – @lspraggan
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Live review: Lucy Spraggan @ O2 Academy Liverpool 7/11/13