Lucy walks on the stage to rapturous cheers from the audience, the electricity in the air is palpable and already the night is shaping up to be unreal. The gorgeous, iconic Albert Hall feels alive as Lucy steps up to the mic, her denim, tassled jacket completing her look as she holds a stunning blue guitar, complimented perfectly by the venue’s electric blue lighting. The night of indie-pop music opens with two upbeat and self-assured songs “Unsinkable” and “Run”, two songs that have the audience singing along to every lyric. The sound coming from the crowd is so loud and the atmosphere is such good vibes it brings a palpable sense of togetherness. I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight, but the band’s prominent drums mixed with Lucy’s guitar sounded so good together.
This is a gig in Lucy’s current hometown, an emotionally charged night that affects Lucy visibly and she chokes up telling the audience she feels not only in complete disbelief at the support she is getting but also overwhelmed and yet with a sense of feeling at home. She thanks the crowd and says she’s never felt like this at a gig before. The night feels somewhat nostalgic, she’s added a load of older songs into her set, which prove to be real crowd pleasers; particularly “Mountains” written when Lucy was 19, “Tea & Toast” and “Last Night (Beer Fear),” taking her way back to her X-Factor days.
One thing I really enjoyed about Lucy’s music is her honesty and relatability, her songs just feel so raw and deal with topics that are both confronting and empowering. My personal fav songs she played were “OCD” and “Bodies.” Before singing “OCD” Lucy speaks about struggling with her mental health and trying to find a label for how she’s been feeling, how she thought she had OCD and then maybe autism or even that she has ADHD, until she realised she doesn’t care either way and she’s not really interested in being told what she is she just wants to be happy. Although having a diagnosis can help some people, I found it to be admirable that she is willing to pursue happiness and not label herself.
The theme of empowerment was prominent through the night and again in her introduction to the song “Bodies”, one of her self proclaimed best songs on her new album. Lucy speaks about issues with her own body issues and how, ultimately, and in her own words, “being thin doesn’t make you happy.” One of her more emotional songs, the crowd reacts by lighting up the room with their phones and swaying along to the tune.
Although the gig is unfortunately cut slightly short because of a medical emergency in the crowd, it’s all in all a great, energetic, albeit sweaty gig in the heart of Manchester with good vibes and important messages.