Sam Smith
Time Warner Cable Arena
July 18, 2015
Smith has blown up very quickly in the last year: his debut album In the Lonely Hour was 2014’s third biggest-selling album, he earned six Grammy nominations, and lead single “Stay With Me” became a revolving favorite on national pop radio stations around the world. But despite all of this commercial success, the 23-year-old singer still gives off a general air of surprise as he stood on stage, gazing around Time Warner Cable with a huge smile on his face.
“The first thing I said when I walked into this room today was ‘I can’t believe how big this place is,” he said, in awe of the packed stadium. “And I can’t believe anyone, even one person showed up, much less that all of you know who I am!”
Of course they know him: he’s become a true star in his own right, hitting some major mainstream success. Yet that same charming, surprised smile never leaves his face throughout his 75-minute set. Despite the “depressing” nature of In the Lonely Hour’s songs, he insisted he’s “actually a very happy person,” and in this setting, it shows.
Yet despite the contradiction of his positively glowing happiness at performing and the dark nature of the material he brought to the table with In the Lonely Hour, Smith still put every last bit of emotion he could into each and every single note.
While songs like “Leave your Lover” actually appeared to draw tears from the mixed crowd, Smith crafted a set list that wouldn’t leave you down for long, switching rapidly from emotional ballads to energetic renditions of “Like I Can” and “La La La,” during which he was positively bursting with happiness getting the crowd involved.
As a vocalist, he just comes off as pure and seems to be an old soul, rare in its own right but especially considering the guy is only 23. In person, he is so much fun to watch — one minute he’s flawlessly climbing the scale of notes while performing solo with only a piano, the next he is overcome with giddiness and genuine awe that so many people are screaming his name as he breaks it down and boogies with his band to “Restart.” It’s a wonderful sight to see in an age where auto tune and dancing teenagers seem to rule the music scene; Smith has such universal appeal because he is a charming, humble guy that happens to be an amazing vocalist to boot. And onstage, that resonates.
Prior to Sam Smith’s main event was Gavin James, a singer-songwriter from Dublin, Ireland. He was given the difficult task of warming up an enormous arena while it was still only half full, with fans taking their time to fill in. Running onstage with just a guitar and a single spotlight, James began with “Hello, I’m Gavin James, I’m going to play a few songs before he comes out.” His unassuming manner and straightforward approach to play was no indication of the kind of voice that would come out of this man: the kind of soul and depth that James produced with just his voice and a single acoustic guitar was on another level. It’s easy to see why Smith picked him, especially since they are both, in a way, out of their element. These two soulful singer-songwriters have the daunting task of taking what is usually an intimate club or lounge performance and delivering it to the masses in an alien setting. And just like Smith, James proved himself more than capable. Keep an eye on this one.
This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2015.
