Jessie Ware popped up in the UK scene around 2010 as the lead vocal on SBTRKT's club tune "Nervous." The track was a pure London dancefloor anthem, with Ware assigned to club songstress duties. She resurfaced as a guest vocalist here and there for the next couple of years with producers like Joker and Julio Bashmore, until finally dropping her first solo effort, Devotion. Not only was it a mammoth of an album, but it marked Ware's transition from dance singer to capital-R Recording Artist.
She came through Revolution this past Friday with Mikky Ekko, who rode shotgun as opener, and the show was about as intimate as you'll ever see the venue. Usually people use the word "intimate" as a nicer way of saying "not sold out" or "low turn-out," but there's something about seeing your favorite artist perform for you and like 60 other people that's really gratifying. Especially since, if you happen to be in another city, you might be locking shoulders with complete strangers... This one was a special night.
By Ryan Morejon
See also: Jessie Ware Thinks Miley Cyrus "Definitely Wears Latex Better Than I Would"
It was also basically the best type of show if you're introverted (like myself), and want something to do on a Friday night.
I arrived a little late for Ekko's performance, so I only caught about three of his songs. It was loungey and quaint, which is exactly the type of vibe the night was going for.
Ware finally came out onstage in her best "Is it a Crime" outfit, and just did the damn thing. The pressures of being a solo act are pretty intense, and performance, as a variable, is equal parts singing and what happens between songs. Ware is so good at chillin' hard with the audience, that I was under the impression we were gonna hang out after the show. The whole thing felt like we were at a party, drinking, chatting and singing songs together.
Honestly, was this the best show I've ever been to? Close.
Topics we all chatted about: GTP (Grab, Twist, Pull; in relation to boyband choreography), Disney World, St. Petersburg, and, of course, the time-old discussion topic of how close Fort Laudy is to Miami.
As far as set-list goes, she sang pretty much the entire record, along with some new joints. You can't really compete with the room's vibe when Ware queued up "Wildest Moments" and "If You're Never Gonna Move." I've always thought the latter tune was meant for teenagers to dance in their room to, Molly Ringwald-style. Yeah, and that was pretty much how it went down that night.
So if you weren't crushing on Jessie Ware already, you were most likely starry-eyed by the end of her performance.
Jessie Ware, will you marry me?
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