Gig Review: Amy MacDonald @ Brighton Dome

Amy MacDonald- Brighton Dome 31/3

Right, I’m going to start by making quite a bold claim. This was one the best concerts I have ever been to. And I’ve been to a fair few. If you are familiar with Amy MacDonald’s music then you may think you know what you’re going to get. But somehow Amy adds an extra dimension to her live performances, something that makes her songs sound even better. She has fantastic voice, with great range and real energy. The slower acoustic songs in the set, are quieter and less frantic, but still just as engaging.


Ben Montague

First though was the support. I have to admit, I had never heard of Ben Montague before, but I was very impressed with what I heard. After getting album of the week on BBC Radio 2, he has definitely entered the public’s consciousness with his own brand of acoustic singer/song writing. By his own admission, most of his songs are about breakups; “It’s harder to write songs when you’re happy” he joked. This doesn’t mean that his material is all slow songs wallowing in self-pity, quite the opposite in fact. He played a number of well written, upbeat acoustic songs that were very catchy; the perfect support for the headline act. In fact the job of supporting Amy came around totally by chance. After chatting on Twitter, he offered his services and she took him up on the offer. He was very well received, but not as well as when Amy MacDonald walked on stage.

Even though the crowd was quiet and reserved through the first few songs, the audience soon got into things; after a little telling off from Amy that is. “You lot along with Gateshead, are the only lot who weren’t on your feet for ‘Mr Rock and Roll’. And after telling us that Sheffield the night before was the ‘unlaziest’ audience on the tour, we helped ensure that Brighton could more than match our northern rivals for the night.

Playing a mixture of songs from all three of her studio albums, there was plenty to keep fans old and new happy. Having been a fan of hers since her debut ‘This is the Life’, I was singing along to pretty much every song. There was even the inclusion of two covers; a brilliant, slow acoustic version of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’, and a cover of Jackie Wilson’s ‘Higher and Higher’. “It’s a song we used to play to get us pumped up before we came on stage, and it somehow found its way into the set” Amy explained.

There was a distinctly middle aged demographic amongst the sell-out crowd, but everyone, young and old was really getting into it and enjoying themselves. This was obviously picked up by Amy and her band members as they were clearly enjoying themselves. There is a good chemistry between them, and they work together to put on a very good show.

One thing that was very apparent was her fierce patriotism. She is very proud of being Scottish. She even has a sparkly mic in the colours of the Scottish flag. There was a lot of interaction with the crowd, a lot little anecdotes. For example we heard what she likes to do when she’s back at home, and itching to get back on tour, and also singing the national anthem at Hamden Park before Scotland play. She is very at ease on stage, something she attributes to her kind audiences.

She finished her set with the title track off her last album ‘Life in a Beautiful Light’, leaving the crowd clapping, chanting and eventually stomping for her to come back on stage. She returned with a smile (“I didn’t get the stomping in Sheffield!”), and went into her rendition of the Bruce Springsteen classic ‘Dancing in the Dark’. With just her and an acoustic guitar, it is very different version to the original, but brilliant none the less. She then played another slow track, ‘The Furthest Star’, before finishing with the fantastic ‘Barrowland Ballroom’ and ‘Let’s Start a Band’. It was the perfect way to finish off a fantastic concert. 

I really enjoy live music, but I came away from the concert with a huge smile on my face. It is definitely up there as one of the best concerts I’ve been to. Might have something to with the fact that Amy is one of my favourite artists, but that’s not important. She is one of the most talented artists to come out of Britain in the last few years, and criminally underrated. Do yourself a favour, if you haven’t already, buy her albums, then grab yourself tickets for her next tour. You won’t regret it.