Ever since she hit the number one spot back in ‘97 with the terminally catchy pop-soul of ‘Dreams’, Gabrielle’s popularity has remained at an impressivley steady rate, particularly with a certain demographic. (The inclusion of one of her songs, ‘Out Of Reach’ on the Bridget Jones soundtrack was clearly no accident). No great surprise then that tonight’s audience was overwhelmingly female (average age early 30-something) and clearly out for a good time as they sang along to virtually every word of every song on Gabrielle’s hit-heavy set-list.
Sporting a Grace Jones T-shirt and her trademark sunglasses, she cuts a slightly vulnerable looking presence at first but buoyed by a hot band, a troupe of backing singers and an impressive light-show she soon gets into her stride. Her voice is disarmingly affecting and can move from a faint whisper to an impressive wail on hits such as ‘Rise’, ‘Give Me A Little More Time’ and ‘Don’t Need The Sun To Shine’.
These pop-savvy tunes and a couple from her most recent album Play To Win including the single ‘Stay The Same’ might at first sound superficially melodic and breezy. But her troubled past brings a real-life sense of emotion to the lyrics and the audience responds with an almost tangible sense of sisterly camaraderie.
colm o’hare