http://www.gigjunkies.com/band-reviews/amy-macdonald-david-ford-o2-academy-birmingham-uk-28-october-2010/

Approaching the Amy Macdonald gig it dawned upon me that I knew absolutely nothing about the artist. I’m not a fan, I don’t know any of her songs and I hadn’t done any pre gig research. My bad! Having been in this situation once or twice before (ahem!) it dawned on me that this sort of gig ordinarily goes one way or the other… I’m either blown away by the enormity of the performance (ala Rihanna) or I’m completely underwhelmed as I was with the Guillemots. The jury was therefore well and truly out for Miss Macdonald and which way it would go.



Support came in the form of David Ford, and his unique brand of musical showmanship. Utilising nothing more than a bass drum, a pair of maracas, 2 guitars and and his voice, nothing out of the ordinary, apart from this guy was doing it all by himself using a loop machine. Impressive stuff.



He entertained the crowd with his layer upon layer of tuneage, which all built up from a guitar riff or a bass drum stomp and then finished in a full blooded song. Really interesting to watch…




Having made it big as a teenager after sending her demo tape in to NME, the fiery Scot immediately drew comparisons with her compatriot KT Tunstall. Opening with ‘Earlier’ from her first album ‘This is Life’ the Guitar wielding, powerful pop vocalist wearing a dress similar to that worn by Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz which complimented her dazzling blue eyes instantly impressed with a voice that belied her tender years.



As she powered her way through her back catalogue of all of the best bits from her first album and her release from earlier in the year ‘Curious Thing’ – including hits ‘Poison Prince’, ‘This is Life’ and ‘Run’ – it was evident that she was having a whale of a time.





It must be a Scottish thing, as Miss Macdonald, like Miss Tunstall stopped at regular intervals to describe, in great detail either the inspiration for the song or a funny story about a recent performance – such as that on Wok TV. I’ve never been a fan of this. Admittedly it’s nice to know a bit about the artist, but for me it halts the natural impetus of a gig and means the singer has to start again from scratch to build up some momentum. Maybe it should just be done before or after a slow song…






When you’re not familiar with the specific songs you are able to be much more objective and take in the general ambience of the gig as a whole. The crowd – which was made up of wide array of age and gender – were thoroughly enjoying the performance by the petite songstress, which was obviously a great sign. It also became apparent that this appreciation was mutual, as the performer and her cohorts were obviously buzzing too.


Albeit it not really my bag, I enjoyed watching Amy MacDonald. Obviously talented – both vocally and musically – she’s really worth taking an interest in. You won’t be disappointed.