Jarrod Lawson [2021-10-19] - "Be The Change" Tour The Stables, Milton Keynes [Live] A Review

Last night I attended the first night of Jarrod Lawson's European "Be The Change" Tour.  The album was released in the midst of Covid last year (30 Oct 2020) and this is the first opportunity he has had to perform the album live, almost exactly a year since it's release. 

As anticipated Jarrod never disappoints. A superb performance, he never misses a note, well actually he didn't quite hit one high note and 'endearingly' laughed it off showing what a true pro he is.  If you have never seen him perform live then there probably isn't a better opportunity as many are still staying away due to Covid as there were a few empty seats, when usually his shows sell out in advance which I have learned to my cost having missed a couple of his UK shows in recent years as I couldn't get tickets as generally he plays small intimate venues. However I did catch him for the first time at O2 Shepherd's Bush back in 2015 where they were also promoting Tahirah Memory's debut album "Pride",  "All The Time", from the album, is still of my personal favourite songs of the decade. Crikey how time flies!

The Stables, Milton Keynes, founded by Sir John Dankworth and Cleo Laine in 1970, is one such 400 seat intimate venue. I was fortunate to have a fantastic seat four rows back in the stalls and luckily on the right hand side as he was sitting on the left of his piano which was sideways on the stage as you looked at the stage, so attendees of the left side of the theatre would be looking at the back of his head for most of the show (a good tip if you're intending buying tickets i.e. get seats to the centre or right hand side of the theatre!). Tahirah Memory is surprisingly not in attendance for the tour this time around, possibly the first tour in recent years without her?

He was supported again by Chris Friesen on bass, and two new members of his band Trent Baarspul on guitar and Brian Foxworth on drums who was only drafted in ten days ago as there were some travel issues with the existing drummer which meant he was not able to take part in the tour, and what a fantastic job he did, especially at such short notice. 

I won't list the full set as it may spoil the enjoyment for those who are planning to attend the remaining gigs, but the first 45 minutes set were all tracks from his latest album "Be The Change", kicking off with the the title track and included the album's standouts, for me, "Love Isn't Always Enough" and "Connected". 

After the interval we were treated to a couple more remaining album tracks including "Soul Symphony" originally recorded on "At The BBC" EP in 2015 along with a couple of tracks from his first album including "Sleepwalker". The highlight for me was his superb rendition of The Isley's "Footsteps In The Dark" with Trent Baarspult doing a fantastic guitar solo. In fact throughout the show each band member performed some great solos with Jarrod looking on in awe and admiration.

As you will know if you've attend any of his gigs Jarrod likes to mingle with the audience during the interval and after the show, but 'obviously' owing to Covid issues he was not able to do so just in case one of the band is infected and the tour has to be cancelled. However, I did manage to get him to sign my vinyl copy of his album, a true gent!

I recommend and urge you to attend one of his shows if you can get tickets as, for my money, he is one of the best live performers I've witnessed. He sounds exactly as he does on his recordings, as you can witness from the many videos already previously posted on the blog of him performing live. I've included live videos of the tracks highlighted above to whet your appetite. 

Please support him if you can, as artists have had a rough time financially due to Covid by not being able to perform live!  Tour dates and links to ticket sales posted here yesterday.

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