Thursday, March 25, 2010

Jamie Cullum Live in Vancouver!


Jamie Cullum blew through town last Saturday night and his show at the Commodore Ballroom immediately vaulted into my top five all-time concerts. My sister flew in from Edmonton to join me at the show and we went an hour before the doors opened, but there were still about 40 people in front of us in line. Fortunately when they finally let us in, most of them were clamoring for the tables and booths while I made a beeline for the stage. Even before we went in, I knew I wanted to be parked left of centre stage right in front of Jamie's piano and that's exactly the spot we got. I think the pictures speak for themselves! The opening act was also a treat with rockabilly vocalist Imelda May revving up the crowd with an energetic performance (she recently teamed up with Jeff Beck at the Grammys in tribute to Les Paul & Mary Ford). Then it was on to Jamie Cullum and I was in awe from the moment he started pounding his new single I'm All Over It through to his second encore, his cover of Radiohead's High & Dry. I've been patiently waiting years for my opportunity to see him live ever since first hearing his 2004 album Twentysomething and the show blew away my already high expectations. It was a perfect storm of excellent sound, a diverse setlist, an unbelievable vantage point, and, of course, a phenomenal artist and performer.

Setlist:
I’m All Over It
Don’t Stop The Music [Rihanna]
Just One Of Those Things [Cole Porter]
Get Your Way
Not While I’m Around [from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim]
Frontin’ (Solo) [Pharrell]
Photograph
Wheels
I Got a Woman intro [Ray Charles]
These Are The Days
I Get a Kick Out of You [Cole Porter]
London Skies
Mixtape
What a Difference a Day Makes [Dinah Washington]
If I Ruled The World [Leslie Bricusse and Cyril Ornadel]
Mind Trick
Cry Me A River [Julie London]
All At Sea

Encore:
The Wind Cries Mary [The Jimi Hendrix Experience]

Encore 2:
High & Dry (Solo) [Radiohead]


Jamie Cullum - After You've Gone [originally recorded by Marion Harris]
Jamie recorded this snappy version of the standard for the BBC series of the same name.

Jamie Cullum - Seven Nation Army [originally by The White Stripes]
Recorded live at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, Jamie tackles the White Stripes anthem with his piano and looping pedals. Speaking of which, their Under Great White Northern Lights super box set came out last week and I was finally able to get mine from the post office yesterday. The whole package is a thing of beauty. It was practically a ritual as I unwrapped it and sifted through each of the components, which includes two DVDs, a CD, a double LP, 7" vinyl, a Rob Jones silkscreen print, and a book of photographs chronicling the tour. Woo, Christmas is March!

Jamie Cullum - I Get a Kick Out of You [originally by Cole Porter]
This is from Jamie's Live at Blenheim Palace DVD, which is where I first got a taste of his dynamic live show.

Jamie Cullum - The Wind Cries Mary [originally by The Jimi Hendrix Experience]
This solo live version of the Jimi Hendrix classic comes from the live 5-song EP Twenty Zero5 Live. A full band studio rendition appears on Twentysomething.


Video evidence of our brilliant vantage point


For the past five years, I've had "Must see Jamie Cullum someday" as a blog label. . . Mission accomplished with a vengeance!

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Here's a little postscript to my Addicted to Codeine Velvet Club post from last week... according to my Last.fm profile, Codeine Velvet Club are now:
  • My #1 Top Artist of the last 7 days
  • My #1 Top Artist of the last 3 months
  • My #1 Top Artist of the last 6 months
    and
  • My #5 Top Artist of the last 12 months

    Pretty spectacular considering I first heard them only 20 days ago. Yep, must see Codeine Velvet Club someday! I told you I was addicted.

  • 1 comment:

    It's all in your head... said...

    Thanks for sharing your Jamie Cullum experience..Saw him in St. Louis with the same "gotta see him" determination for 5 years and it was worth the wait and a most exhilarating experience.. Thanks again for sharing the great pics and comments!!