Raye has waited a long time for this, and now she’s going to do it right: after seven years of being stuck with a label that refused to release her album, she saw My 21st Century Blues finally the light of day at the beginning of February. At the first show of her European tour in Melkweg, Amsterdam, the British singer is flanked by a no less than seven-piece band, including saxophone, trumpet and trombone. “It’s not cheap to take a band like that with you everywhere,” says Raye, “but it sounds so good!”
The band, dressed in white suits with black bow ties, gives the songs of the varied album more cohesion. Even a house pop song like ‘Black Mascara’ gets a touch of vintage soul through the horns. The interplay needs to be tightened up a bit, anyway, it’s only the first show. However, Raye’s voice is flawless: the audience knows all the lyrics, but she sings so many creative jazzy variations that no one can keep up with her.
Also read this interview with Raye: ‘I don’t want to hide anything anymore’
Emotional climax
The singer’s glamorous white suit is tastefully sprinkled with glitter, and she wears her hair in red Marilyn Monroe curls. But the emotional climax of the concert comes when she sheds the glamour. On the song “Body Dysmorphia,” Raye strips down to her simple white underwear. Not powerful, not sexy, but vulnerable: her hands in front of her stomach, in front of her face. Is she crying? While singing she picks herself up, makes herself bigger, less afraid. “On this album I’ve told you things that my best friends don’t even know.” It is precisely this vulnerability that her audience falls for: every emotional moment (and there are many) is answered with deafening applause.
Raye is funny, charming, tough, sensitive, and a fantastic vocalist. Star power galore. She herself clearly can’t quite believe that she is now selling out venues like this. Get used to it, Raye. After seven years, this is just the beginning.