Romantic chart-topper Lewis Capaldi felt the love at Perth Concert Hall on Saturday night.
The Bathgate balladeer’s festival booking had sparked unprecedented demand, but if he felt pressure it didn’t show. Backed by an anonymous red-clad all-male band, Celtic fan Capaldi, 22, entered to the Champions League theme before delivering a trademark cordial — and expletive-laden — greeting.
His banter jarred with the super-slick and bombastic intro but was a shrewd nerve-settler for a performer adjusting to mass adulation, before catchy breakthrough hit Grace and sparse favourite Bruises served to heighten a euphoric atmosphere.
Boy-next-door Capaldi’s default setting is to laugh away his insecurities, prompting his wisecrack, “If you’ve not seen me before you should know that if you don’t like a wee fat guy singing sad songs you should leave.”
Feted for his soul-moving anthems, he unleashed impressive uptempo offering Hollywood from debut album Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, proving he’s no one-trick pony.
After showing the vocal prowess that’s endeared him to millions — without overdoing the clichéd inflections that’ve hamstrung so many of his contemporaries — on the tender Headspace and R&B vibe Don’t Get Me Wrong, the dulcet-voiced troubadour offered unnecessary apologies as self-doubt resurfaced ahead of a first live outing for new song Maybe.
The huge teenage turnout swooned as Lewis donned a pair of heart-shaped shades for Fade, before reverting to comedy mode. “Thanks very much to my mum and dad for making sweet love and creating me,” he quipped.
Dottiness followed as the star invited a marathon countdown to a confetti release that never arrived. True to form, the deceptively slapdash moment was expertly handled by dishevelled Capaldi, whose steely professionalism should take him a long way.
Closing an encore-free set, he allowed his fans to lustily sing back sections of signature song Someone You Loved and seemed genuinely awe-struck. Though his performance barely lasted an hour — including copious chat — it’s hard not to relate to Capaldi or to relish the joy he induces.
