The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Dan Wilson at St Giles Church

Dan Wilson at St Giles Church | Live review
10 October 2014
Keir Smith
Avatar
Shot by 7
Avatar
Keir Smith Shot by 7
10 October 2014

Music review

Keir Smith
★★★★★

Highlights

Closing Time, Someone Like You, One True Love

Links

Twitter Facebook Website

Dan Wilson is an established artist who has that annoying burden of being categorised as an act who is painfully underrated. Perhaps the best example of that dubious titleJay Briggs Presentation is the fact that the Grammy Award winner is tonight playing an intimate gig at a central London church. The venue is such an intriguing choice: there is an immediate sense of eerie calm filling the hall as the audience arrive and take their seats on the church pews.

The opening track soon blows away any awkward vibes in the dusty building as A Song Can Be About Anything fills the billowy hall and reverberates around like a trapped angel, much to the crowd’s pleasure. Wilson is almost at the same level as the crowd and eases any tension by declaring that the lighting gives him a “horror movie face”. Crowd interaction is a common theme as he often displays his impressive comic abilities and gives inside information about his famous songs. The set is kept acoustic all night and gives the gig an atmospherically buoyant tone as Wilson is completely dependent on just his voice and guitar, two instruments that never let the singer down.

Wilson’s voice is an impressive weapon as the acoustics in the building allow it to ring around. Songs like One True Love and Free Life sound beautifully harmonic and perfectly display his glorious vocal range. Piano accompaniment and a bit of harmonica and cello are also chucked in to give the set a more polished feel and amp up the folky soft-rock components. Covers of Wilson’s more famous tracks like Adele’s Someone Like You and Taylor Swift’s Treacherous are special treats and the stories of their recording are equally show-stopping. A sing-a-long of classic track Closing Time in the final part perfectly ends the show as the every member of the audience leaves with a smile on their face.

While the audience number might not have been the healthiest for such an esteemed artist, those in the grand room must definitely have felt that they saw something special on the night – Wilson not only played to perfection, but also offered up brilliantly interesting career stories throughout.

★★★★★

Keir Smith
Photos: Erol Birsen

For further information about Dan Wilson and future events visit here.

Watch the video for A Song Can Be About Anything here:

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Related Itemsdan wilsonlivemusicreviewst giles church

More in Live music

Bicep at Saatchi Gallery Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Laura Mvula – Under a Pink Moon

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

Tom Grennan live in concert – online

★★★★★
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Read More

The Cinematic Orchestra at the Southbank Centre

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Vienna New Year’s Day Concert at the Musikverein

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Rufus, Martha and Lucy Wainwright Present: A Not So Silent Night “Virtually Together”

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More

Pete Tong and the Heritage Orchestra: Ibiza Classics – O Come All Ye Ravers at the O2 Arena Online

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Courtney Barnett live from the Royal Exhibition Building Melbourne

★★★★★
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Read More

Gorillaz: Song Machine Live

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Music review

Keir Smith
★★★★★

Highlights

Closing Time, Someone Like You, One True Love

Links

Twitter Facebook Website

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Celebrate International Women’s Day with a Bombay Sapphire Cocktails & Create masterclass
    Food & Drinks
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Limbo
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Big vs Small
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • Women in film introduce favourite female-directed features for new BFI series on 8th March
    Cinema & Tv
  • Body Brokers
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Mouthpiece
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Sentinelle
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Jesus Egon Christ (Jesus Egon Christus)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Jesus Egon Christ: An interview with directors David and Saša Vajda
    Berlinale
  • Vicious Fun
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • Berlinale 2021 winners: The full list
    Berlinale
  • WandaVision
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • Coming 2 America
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Mim Scala: In Motion at Eleven | Exhibition review
Tartuffe at The Space | Theatre review