Gabrielle et Marti Pellow

Gabrielle was queen of the 90's and the early 00's with her glossy, RnB-pop tracks With many a hit under her belt that have stood the test of time, from 'Rise', 'Out of Reach' and 'Dreams', she is still a nostalgic staple for ballad lowers, with many of her songs used in soundtracks for Hollywood films, such as 'Bridget Jone's Diary'. I saw Gabrielle at the height of her fame in the early 2000's. She was still playing large venues and bringing in the crowds. However, the NEC in Birmingham, where I was part of the audience, felt too big and didn't suit Gabrielle's soulful sound, or heartfelt lyrics. A more intimate setting would of taken the music to another level. Instead, Gabrielle tried to hold the huge stage all alone, with only the large screens to help. She wore her trademark black suit and sunglasses, making the show lack even more spectacle, some much needed colour wouldn't have gone a miss. The audience were a mix of ages, mostly women. A collection of mums, grans, aunts and kids all dotted around the enormous hall. The crowd were reluctant to dance or sing, but were willed to there feet by constant encouragement from the lady herself. Hits like 'Sunshine Through my Window' managed to raise some voices in a sing-a-long, but the older members of the crowd stayed very much quiet and seated.
Technically Gabrielle was pitch perfect, she has the vocal range and the stamina of a much younger woman and chatted with ease between songs to the crowd. She has a sweet, rich voice that didn't falter once, she even treated the crowd to some unexpected covers, in which she invited a member of Damage on to the stage (which really dates this review).

Marti is one of my all time favourite singers
He really enjoys singing and you can see this on his face when he sings
Even with the Wets his voice stood out
He is so talented
He always like the audience to take part in his songs
Yeah he had a rough patch some years ago but he has emerged on the better side
He us happy he has an infectious smile
I have seen Marti around twenty five times and I will never ever give up going to his concerts even when I am old and grey
Anyone going to see Marti will have a memorable evening one you will never forget
Until the next time
lovetolovemarti

When two great musicians from opposing genres collaborate, usually it means that some really special and original music is about to be created, and this is exactly what happened when the beat maker Smoove collaborated with John Turrell to create the duo Smoove & Turrell. Their combination of acid jazz beats and blues samples alongside Turrell’s gospel voice is simply incredible and goose bump worthy.

They opened the show with I Can’t Give You Up, and had everyone dancing along right away. When Smoove improvises on the decks, Turrell is incredible at scat singing over the top of his incredibly original beats to create something fresh and exciting. Hearing musicians of this calibre perform live is fascinating, because you’re exposed to so many new tracks that don’t appear on any of their studio recording that they simply make up on the spot.

Their uptempo funk beats had everyone dancing all the way through, and the duo were joining in and encouraging it no end. They’re a lot of fun as well as being super talented, it was a really great show.