When it was first suggested to me that I go to see George Ezra in concert I wasn’t very excited. I wouldn’t describe myself as a fan and to tell you the truth, I only knew about three songs from the radio.
As I clearly didn’t have very high expectations, anything was going to be better than what I had thought up in my head.
The Barrowlands is one of my all time favourite venues for a gig, it’s the perfect size and always has an atmosphere that is unlike any other venue. Once again, it didn’t fail me, the ballroom filled up quickly and surprisingly it wasn’t just young teenage girls screaming for Mr Ezra ,there was a whole variety of people professing their love.
The support act, Ten Tonnes, began to warm up the crowd with an up beat very catchy song. With a sound similar to the likes of The Kooks and The Vaccines, the night was off to a great start. The artist and his band played around five or six songs, each filling the spectators with more excitement for the main event. It was with later investigation that I found out that Ten Tonnes, also known as Ethan Barnett, is in fact George Ezra’s brother. A very talented family some might say.
After a short interval and a very long wait in the line for the bathrooms, it was time to see if what I had originally thought about George Ezra was right. It was a slow start as obviously I knew none of the songs but I had a little dance and clapped along best I could.
As the night went on, the inevitable happened, ‘Budapest’. Even a non fan has to admit that this song is an ultimate tune. The party rally started at this point. With every song came another story of how the song came about, Ezra hadn’t even been to Budapest at the point of writing.
Song after song I began to realise, “I’m actually really loving this!”.
It goes without saying that George Ezra is incredibly talented, but his band were exceptional. From the usual guitar and drum players to the trumpet and trombone players, every single member of the band gave 100% and it was clear to see.
‘Paradise’, ‘Cassy O” and ‘Don’t Matter Now’ created an atmosphere that I didn’t expect from this type of gig. It was full of love and admiration for great songs and an even better singer/man. It wasn’t hard to see the sheer joy on his face as every person in the crowd sang his lyrics with passion.
The final song choice was perfect, an feeling of electricity filled the ballroom as the first lyrics of ‘Shotgun’ were sang. Luckily for me I knew the words to this one, I joined the rest of the crowd singing along and partying with the band as they took a final bow and left the stage.
I can happily admit that my initial thoughts on the night and on George Ezra himself were wrong. He really knows how to put on a show. I fell in love and can safely say that I am a new fan, but can you really ‘Blame it on me’?
Featured image credit: Abigail Taylor
