Live Review: Jack Savoretti – 13th August 2022 – Eventim Apollo, London, UK
4 min read
It’s always such a pleasure to attend a show where the musician you pay to see genuinely look like they are having the time of their lives. That’s how it felt last night at West London’s Eventim Apollo where singer songwriter Jack Savoretti laid down a beautiful patchwork of some of his finest penning’s to a worthy and enthusiastic sold-out audience of fans. With a smile brimming on the acclaimed musicians face from the first strum of his signature acoustic friend, right through to the closing hum of the nights finishing chord, we were in the presence of a songwriting master, and a musician who clearly adores his day job as he gyrated from one side of the stage to the other with a suave demeanour and dressed sharply in tight black jeans and a shining black shirt!
Promoting his latest album Europiana – his seventh studio album to date and second UK #1 album – Savoretti was a finely tuned and slick showman that was eager to unleash tracks from his 2021 release, as well as play various hits from a well-crafted repertoire that he has firmly established over the last 15 years, even throwing in a fan favourite cover of Dusty Springfield;s You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me, blended with Pino Donaggio’s Io che non vivo senza te for good, Motown-meets-Italian measure. Not that he needed to of course, with a weighty suitcase of self-penned hits that could have easily made this tour a greatest hits road trip of the UK.
More familiar with Savoretti’s mainstream output that came through 2015’s Written in Scars and 2016’s Sleep No More, while I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this latest tour, and having not seen Savoretti live before, I have to admit I wasn’t all that surprised as the delivery of hits throughout last night’s show was characteristically close to the impeccable quality of his studio recordings; this tour dancing effortlessly through his latest record of emotive, sentimental slow burners and 80’s inspired masterpieces and a collection of career notables including early highlight, When We Were Lovers which had the sold out crowd, which included celebrity fans like Natalie Imbruglia, happily jump to their feet at the direction of the headliner to dance along with one of the singers biggest hits.
With a backing band providing Savoretti’s set with some of the most impeccable instrumentation we have heard in years, the singer was a master of his stage; a conductor that would encourage his adoring fans to have as much fun as they could – requesting the crowd to stand for some of the nights punchy numbers and to take a load off for his gorgeous balladry; the likes of Candlelight, introduced by a chorus of the famous Nancy Sinatra hit, (Bang Bang) Baby Shot Me Down to a rapturous applause from his fans. While the ballads captivated the crowd, the up-tempo numbers we quick to get Savoretti’s fans dancing, regardless of their age, as we couldn’t help but notice the vast age range of his fans (the first several rows filled with 60 year old plus fangirls), showing that his music has long transcended any particular generation of music lovers who lapped up 80’s synth drenched numbers including new album track, Who’s Hurting Who? which saw the musician collaborate with 70’s and 80’s disco king, Nile Rodgers, and an early appearance of What More Can I Do?, a track that sounds like the perfect soundtrack to a cruise around the Mediterranean, perhaps?
The singer’s Italian blood was pumping heavily through the veins of the entire show with his showmanship shining with a sort of Julio Iglesias meets Barry Manilow feel to his performance, and a rawness and sincerity in his vocals that really sets Savoretti apart from most. Throughout the show he was accompanied by a backdrop of softly played piano, guitar, an occasional accordion and a sentimental violin that would complement numbers like the Ukraine tribute of appropriately titled Soldier’s Eyes, while a Spanish guitar helped propel a moving live rendition of one of Savoretti’s finest ballads, Dr Frankenstein where the singer encouraged us to live “right here, right now” following a moment where the singer talked about a period in his life when he welcomed his 3rd child and then lost his father.
Weaving a synthpop thread through punchy Italian scented lyrical gems, last night’s show was one of the best shows we have seen in quite some time. And we attend quite a fair few shows here at Renowned For Sound. A genuine superstar of the studio and the stage, Savoretti reminded us just why we love live shows as much as we do and we can’t wait for another number one album and tour from this multi-talented superstar!
Setlist:
I Remember Us
What More Can I Do?
When We Were Lovers
Too much history
Candlelight (with ‘My Baby Shot Me Down’ intro)
Greatest Mistake
Dr Frankenstein
Soldier’s Eyes
The Way You Said Goodbye
Knock Knock
Secret Life
Who’s Hurting Who
Dancing Through The Rain
Home
Each and Every Moment
Encore:
Io che non vivo senza te / You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me (Dusty Springfield cover)
Catapult
Back Where I Belong
::: RenownedForSound.com’s Editor and Founder –
Interviewing and reviewing the best in new music and globally recognized artists is his passion.
Over the years he has been lucky enough to review thousands of music releases and concerts and interview artists ranging from top selling superstars like 27-time Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss, Boyz II Men, Roxette, Cyndi Lauper, Lisa Loeb and iconic Eagles front man/songwriter, Glenn Frey through to more recent successes including Newton Faulkner, Janelle Monae and Caro Emerald.
Brendon manages and coordinates the amazing team of writers on RenownedForSound.com who are based in the UK, the U.S and Australia.
