Had a top-tastic night out last night when the Jolly Girls outing took us to Manchester to see KT Tunstall at the Ritz. I've heard much about the Ritz but had never been there, so off to Whitworth Street just off Oxford Road we headed after a meal stop in the city centre. The Ritz is an iconic dancehall dating back from the 1920's. My dad even danced there in the early 50's! We were hit with that heady buzz of anticipation when we first walked in. The place is gloriously dark, intimate, with a springy dancefloor that your feet stick to with a trillion split pints of Boddingtons. It smells weird, the bar staff are quirky, and it's just a perfect little gem. Many famous bands have played there - The Stone Roses, Arctic Monkeys, Happy Mondays, The Smiths and even a little band called the Beatles. As soon as KT started her set, you soon realised the place had superb acoustics which made the place absolutely rock. I'm a big fan of hers anyway, but last night she was on top form. There were plenty from the new album but she really wowed the audience with her oldies 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree', 'Saving My Face' and my absolute favourite, 'Heal Over' which much to my chagrin, moved me to tears. Her finale built up to climax with a truly awesome new track 'Madame Trudeaux', a cover version of Erasure's 'Give a Little Respect', then her rip roarer 'Suddenly I See'. Watching years of the turgid X Factor fodder and going to huge stadium tours, it was totally refreshing to go to an intimate and atmospheric venue to watch musicianship at it's best. Even though my feet stuck to the carpet and the place stuck of dirty underpants, it gave me a huge reminder as to why I love music and live gigs at these types of venues. You connect with it, you're part of it, you dance like a banshee, you sweat like a racehorse on steroids and you spill beer down yourself.. but I wouldn't have swapped last night for anything. I also got to meet up with my lovely nursing buddies who are not only rock chicks, they know how to shop for Manchester's bargains in Ugg boots as well. Awesome...
The tickets are booked... the next Jolly Girls outing sees our intrepid little gang of nurses travelling to the Ritz in Manchester to see the very talented Ms KT Tunstall. I've seen her 3 times now and each time you get great value for money from KT. She's a mega talented musician with a string of very credible records and albums behind her. In the age of X Factor-esque manufactured music, she stands out for her originality and musical ability. To top it off, KT is also pretty good with her fans too. A group of us went to see her at the Manchester Apollo a few years back and like the groupies were are, we waited by the stage door to see if we could spot her as she legged it onto her tour bus before zooming off into the night. Well, she didn't zoom off, but stopped for ages to talk to people, have her photo taken and sign autographs. We got to speak to her and three of us congratulated her for a great performance and asked geeky questions about her guitar, where she was found her song-writing inspiration, her plans for further tours etc. All very NME and we were soon gushing at acquiring such a cool 'mate'. Then, one of our mates who is normally very quiet and not prone to easy conversation got very nervous and twitchy at the prospect of being pushed forward to speak to the lady herself. You could just about spot her rehearsing and lipsyncing her questions until the big moment came and KT asked if our mate wanted an autograph. V steps forward and within a few inches of KT's face blurted out 'F**K me, you were f*****g AMAZING' whilst we stood there mouths gaping at her monumental verbosity. KT bless her, smiled and said 'thankyou very much' before moving on to a wheelchair user wearing a Black Horse and the Cherry Tree T Shirt.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to October and hearing her old stuff and some good music from her new album. I shall also look forward to once again meeting her at the stage door and doing a great impression of a gushing fan. If in any doubt as to the talent of KT Tunstall, check out the video and her cover of the Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back'. Genius...
