Live: TOM GRENNAN // Bush Hall, London
Tom Grennan’s charmingly powerful vocal performance took everyone through an emotional roller coaster at sold out O2 x War Child gig last week.
Day 10 out of 12 on BRITs Week Together with O2 for War Child and I’m in the front line waiting for trouper Tom Grennan in the iconic venue of Bush Hall which hasn’t seen him since 2018. Luckily/unluckily I am waiting in between some very enthusiastic crowd members who can’t seem to hide their excitement and haven’t seen him since he was last touring his UK Top Ten debut album Lighting Matches two years ago that included a triumphant performance at the O2 Academy Brixton.
Standing dashingly in front of a sold out Bush Hall in his trademark elegantly trendy as always outfit (silk patterned shirt, white tank top and silk royal blue trousers), Tom is ready to take over everyone’s Wednesday night, kicking off with sincerely raw Amen, dedicated to his dear friend Caroline Flack.
Moving to an upbeat jazzy groove set, the Bedford singer unsurprisingly charms everyone with his powerful and soaring vocals that amazingly don’t break for a single second as he is constantly running back and forth on stage while performing his debut album’s highlights: Barbed Wire, Royal Highness, Make ‘Em Like You, Praying and Sober. Quick break to acknowledge his grandma in the crowd and wave at her and also jokingly announce how ‘ridiculously sweaty’ he is getting and that “I haven’t done this in a while mate, I did a 10K run on Monday and this is even harder-phew!”
By this point I am going through an emotional roller coaster and it’s good to see I am not the only one as I catch a few tearing faces in the crowd, especially the ones in the VIP seating area who seem to be Tom’s prouder than ever friends and family as he showcases his natural talent in an emotionally charged performance of Lucky Ones, Aboard, I Might and All Goes Wrong – the Chase & Status song that rose him to fame and saw him climb on the charts for the very first time.
Encore kicks off with his newest indie bop single This Is The Place, and I am very pleasantly amazed to see how equally excited as Tom everyone else is for his new material to arrive as they dance along to its upbeat funky groove. Following with poignant Something In The Water, Grennan wittily forgets the lyrics to its verse, which just gives everyone a wondrous chance to quickly jump in to fill in for him.
‘Ta ta ta ta tararara’ everyone starts loudly humming before Found What I’ve Been Looking For intro had a chance to even start playing and I honestly can’t notice a single person in the crowd who isn’t proudly pouring their hearts out. The musical career highlight track was the perfect ending to an astonishing night that just simply proved to everyone how Tom Grennan is destined for bigger and better things and is more ready than ever to hit the road again.
“And remember…I fucking love ya, God bless you.”
Photos: Lina Molloholli