WORTH A LOOK?: **
WHERE: Almeida
WHEN: 28/4 (matinee) runs to 26/5/18
A theatregoer is asked what she thinks of the play she has just seen and her response is one of the angriest and brilliant outbursts of new writing we’ve seen for a long time.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: KOKO
WHEN: 26/4, tour runs to 29/4/18
SETLIST: Stereo Shot; Water On Glass; Never Trust A Stranger; Kandy Krush; Cambodia; Birthday; Yours ‘Til The End; Another Step; Words Fell Down; Bladerunner; If I Can’t Have You; Rosetta; View From A Bridge; Chequered Love; You Came; You Keep Me Hangin’ On; 1969; Pop Don’t Stop; Kids In America
It’s rare for an act of Kim Wilde’s vintage (first hit 1981) to release a new album (Here Come The Aliens in March) that sits so well in a greatest hits set.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Under The Bridge
WHEN: 25/4, tour runs to 10/11/18
SETLIST: Queens; Hån; Dance; Diva; Euphoria; Rise Like A Phoenix; Every Way That I Can; Rock’n’ Roll Kids; No Fear; Don’t Deny Our Love; My Touch; Domino; Calm After The Storm; Dance Like Nobody’s Watching; Con Te Partiro; Half A Heart; Wild Wild Wonderland; Monsters
The Eurovision Song Contest might mean a once-a-year event to you but for this year’s Finnish contestant Saara Aalto it is the culmination of a 14-year quest.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: Royal Albert Hall
WHEN: 24/4, tour runs to 29/4/18
SETLIST: Don’t Rain On My Parade; Crazy; I Smell A Rat; Addicted To Love; Dinner At Eight; Mad about The Boy; Superstar; City Of Stars; Hey Big Spender; Anyone Who Had A Heart; Take Another Piece of My Heart; Talking In Your Sleep; My Man; 9 to 5; This Is Me; And I Am Telling You; I Will Survive/Happy
Sheridan Smith takes a sip of what she assures us is water (not vodka), belches and observes: ‘I should have left that one back in Wolverhampton.’
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: Leicester Square Theatre
WHEN: 13/4, runs to 14/4/18
We’ve always been big fans of John Barrowman but why have we never heard of the wise-cracking pianist and interviewer Seth Rudetsky who brings out the very best of the Torchwood star here?
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
WHEN: 14/3, UK tour runs to 24/8
SETLIST: Go To War; Plot Twist; Schedules; I Don’t Buy It; Raw; Savage In Our Blood; Doing You A Favour; Watch Me; Dynamite; In Vain; High Five; Fake Friends; Credit; Strangers; Don’t Kill My Vibe
We’re not here to kill 21-year-old Sigrid Raabe’s vibe but for her Scandipop bangers although it soon becomes clear that there’s much more to her than those.
WORTH A LOOK?: **
WHERE: Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith
WHEN: 23/2/18, tour runs to 26/8/18
SETLIST: Oh L’Amour; Ship Of Fools; Breathe; Mad As We Are; Just A Little Love; In My Arms; Chains Of Love; Sacred; Sweet Summer Loving; I Love Saturday; Victim Of Love; Phantom Bride; World Be Gone; Who Needs Love Like That; Take Me Out Of Myself; Blue Savannah; Atomic; Drama; Stop!; Love You To The Sky; Always; Here I Go Impossible Again; Sometimes; A Little Respect
WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2
WHERE: IndigO2
WHEN: 19/2, on tour until 10/11/18 including 4 gigs at Wembley Stadium this summer
SETLIST: Castle On The Hill; Eraser; The A Team; Don’t; Dive; Bloodstream; Happier; Tenerife Sea; Galway Girl; Feeling Good; How Would You Feel?; Photograph; Perfect; Nancy Mulligan; Thinking Out Loud; Sing; Shape Of You; You Need Me, I Don’t Need You
An unforgettable gig is always about its details rather than its headlines.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHERE: Union Chapel, supporting Billy Lockett
WHEN: 15/2/18
SETLIST: Shoot Me Down; Blood Diamonds; Plastic; Pretty Boy; Paper Crown; Psycho; Bad and Beautiful; Black Dahlia
‘Does anyone here know a Pretty Boy?’ Our new favourite singer is about to launch into her best song in the atmospheric surroundings of Islington’s Union Chapel.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHERE: Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith
WHEN: 9/12, US tour February 2018
SETLIST: Nathan Jones; Robert de Niro’s Waiting; Rough Justice; Aie a Mwana; Cruel Summer; Trick Of The Night; Shy Boy/Boy Trouble; Really Saying Something; Cheers Then; Stay; Preacher Man; I Heard A Rumour; More Than Physical; I Can’t Help It; I Want You Back; Venus; Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye; ‘T’aint What You Do; Love In The First Degree
We’re compiling our end-of-year best-of shortlists in various categories at the moment and this gig will be tough to beat in 2017.
