Katie Melua at The Sage

Katie Melua

The Sage, Gateshead

16.10.2012

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It's not easy getting tickets to see Katie Melua! When she is scheduled to appear at The Sage, they habitually print their 'forthcoming events' booklets with a 'sold out' banner next to her name. Fortunately, I managed to secure some tickets when they first went on sale, about 10 months ago.

Katie emerged from behind the curtains and started the show with a solo, acoustic rendition of Piece of Piece. Her voice was strong and the delivery spellbinding. The Secret String Quartet came out to accompany her for the next three songs before the tempo of the evening shifted again as the curtains parted to reveal the full band.

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The set list covered musical ground from all five of her albums, with a slight overall bias in favour of Secret Symphony. Everything about the show was thoroughly professional, with the lighting changing for each song to augment the mood.

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The encore brought the show full circle, with the curtains down and Katie alone on stage with just her acoustic guitar for company. She called for requests and delivered perfect renditions before bidding us all goodnight.

I'd definitely go and see her again; she has a very special talent and thoroughly deserves her extremely high reputation.

Set List

Piece By Piece
If You Were a Sailboat
I'd Love to Kill You
The Closest Thing to Crazy
Mary Pickford
The Flood
A Moment of Madness
Gasoline Alley
Somewhere in the Same Hotel
Shy Boy
If the Lights Go Out
The Walls of the World
Secret Symphony
The Bit That I Don't Get
Forgetting All My Troubles
The Night I Dreamed I Was Awake
Call Off the Search
Moonshine
Two Bare Feet

Encore

Nine Million Bicycles
Better Than a Dream
I Cried for You

For the latest news and tour dates, keep an eye on the official Katie Melua website.

Here's a few more photos from a very memorable evening.

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