Musty Memorial Hall is an unlikely destination for a girls’ night out celebration. Yet there was no place over a thousand women would have rather been than the venerable auditorium in Kansas City, Kan., on a drizzly Thursday night.
They were there to greet handsome British phenomenon James Blunt. His 2005 debut album, "Back To Bedlam," has sold over 2 million units on the strength of its treacly love songs and Blunt’s good looks.
Songs that sound trite, obvious and overbearing on record were transformed into genial anthems. Blunt’s winning performance made it clear that he’s much more than an ersatz Elton John or a graceless version of James Taylor. And while future tours may be rife with costume changes, Blunt remained clad in a black t-shirt and jeans as he playfully bounded about the stage.
The evening’s pinnacle was a rousing take on “High,” the third song in Blunt’s 16-song set. In a trend that would continue throughout the 85-minute show, Blunt was backed by an enormous female chorus, as the entranced audience sang along to every word. If any of the scattered husbands, boyfriends and assorted fathers in the audience of approximately 1,500 joined in, their voices were lost in the ear-splitting din.
The key to Blunt’s newfound substance was his muscular four-piece band. Its terrific arrangements added much-needed swagger to Blunt’s delicate songs. Keyboardist Paul Beard’s soulful playing seemed carefully designed to take the shrill edge off Blunt’s keening wail. That whine was exposed as Blunt sang the cloying “Goodbye My Lover” without his band, but it didn’t dissuade another massive choir practice.
Blunt introduced his anti-war lament, “No Bravery,” by discussing a recent trip to Kosovo, where he had served as a British soldier. The situation there “hadn’t improved,” Blunt reported.
“We follow whatever is in the press today, and tomorrow we forget about it. While the song is embarrassingly hackneyed, the audience revered his foray into political material.
The two cover songs Blunt offered provided respite from his sensitive ballads. The English dancehall charm of Supertramp’s “Breakfast In America” was refreshing. And in a sure affront to fans of indie rock, Blunt recast The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” as a jaunty, middle-of-the-road ditty.
Blunt’s many detractors will be discouraged to learn that each of the four new songs he performed sounded like sure-fire future hits. “I Really Want You” and “I Can’t Hear the Music” are just as impossibly simplistic as Blunt’s established hits.
The apparent official theme song to girls’ night out, the inescapable smash “You’re Beautiful,” ended the evening. It was a fine party.
Starsailor’s European stardom didn’t translate well during their opening set. Vocalist and guitarist James Walsh owns a soulful voice and the English band’s Oasis-influenced set was more than adequate, but the ladies in Memorial Hall had their minds set on seeing their favorite sex symbol.
| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star
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