Review: Paloma Faith captivates at unconventional Kew Gardens gig

Paloma Faith is one of the best musicians the UK has right now. She’s charismatic, versatile and one of the strongest, most engaging live performers around – not to mention that she’s selling albums by the bucketload. A Perfect Contradiction, her third record, is one of the best selling albums in the UK for both 2014 and 2015.

Paloma’s ongoing summer festival run follows a sold-out theatre and arena tour. Now how many acts can say they’ve had three sold out tours with just one album?

Kew Gardens might be picturesque but, today, it isn’t the venue I’d anticipated. I’ve been fortunate enough to see Paloma perform many times, from Guildhalls to arenas and even once at a museum! So there was a lot to live up to.

Unfortunately, this is the first time where I felt like it didn’t quite work for me. Though that comes as no fault of Paloma, who as always, gave a mighty performance along with her sickeningly slick, suave, live band.

Unlike traditional gigs, the atmosphere at Kew Gardens was overcast by the thousands of people who each brought their own picnic tables, chairs, blankets and a whole feast of food, some who remained chatting throughout Paloma’s set.

Ed: Think less a straight-forward concert, more an extravagant picnic with a unique twist.

Paloma Faith - Only Love Can Hurt Like This (Official Video)

Watch this video on YouTube

Still, picking just one standout moment of the night would be a struggle. It’s a testament to Paloma that one moment she can have you feeling all the emotions with a track like Only Love Can Hurt Like This and then the next, you’ll be dancing away to Stone Cold Sober or Can’t Rely On You.

The concert clocked in at a reasonable 90 minutes which included the majority of A Perfect Contradiction, but only a small handful of tracks from Fall to Grace and her debut record, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?

Paloma Faith is a formidable performer and you should beg, steal or borrow a ticket to her next tour. (Ed: we recommend buying one, naturally).