Live
TAIO CRUZ; BUSH HALL 19/03/2008
Following a recent trend of producers and songwriters such as Timbaland, Mark Ronson and John Legend, Taio Cruz stepped out of the shadows of the recording studio and into the role of performing artist. For his first foray into the public spotlight, he chose the ornate if somewhat diminutive surroundings of Bush Hall in West London.
Given that Cruz has worked with a range of artists that read like a current Who’s Who of R’n’B aristocracy and has a single riding high in the UK Top 20, he initially appeared reticent as he gave a Victory sign and tentatively made his way onto stage. Such, however, was the warm reception from the 200 strong crowd, particularly from the female contingent, that his confidence visibly grew as the gig went on.
The song “Driving Me Crazy” made for a grand opening with a pulsating mix of 80’s style dance electronica and heavy drums and percussion. This was swiftly followed by the Seal-esque track “Fly Away”. It was clear by now that Taio was enjoying himself as much as the crowd as he smiled warmly for much of the rest of the show. The more intimate electro ballads “Moving On” and “Never Love Again” from aptly named debut album “Departure” appeared in the middle of the set followed then by an unexpected acoustic rendition of Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars”, which Taio declared to be one of his favourite love songs.
The latter part of the show moved up-tempo once again with the intensely soulful “I Just Wanna Know” and closed with a barnstorming performance of the electro dance track and current hit “Come On Girl”. The encore was “She’s Like a Star”. Taio Cruz, undoubtedly, put in a strong performance for a first show.
The intensity of the lighting and the sound system made it feel like the show had been set up to play at Wembley Arena rather than the pocket-sized Bush Hall. Even Cruz’s ample vocals were, at times, in danger of being drowned out by the soaring orchestral keyboard chords and overpowering drum and percussion. This was particularly acute during the more ballady mid-section of the concert.
Overall, the show was enjoyable and the music diverse. The up-tempo tracks, in particular, alluded to former great dance electronica such from artists such as Rockwell and Herbie Hancock and many influences, such as Lenny Kravitz, Terence D’Arby and Stevie Wonder to name but a few, could be heard in the vocal delivery of the songs. Nonetheless, Cruz’s voice retains its strong unique quality and Bush Hall provided the audience a great opportunity to see this rising R’n’B star in an intimate setting. However, it is clear that the production on this set requires a much bigger venue and hopefully, this demand will be met when Taio Cruz goes on tour with Boyz II Men this month.
Words DARREN LEWIS
