Paulo Nutini - Coming (back) easy?

Growing up, I thought Paolo Nutini was an old man. I, at around 7 years wise, would argue relentlessly with my mother that the voice coming from the radio could not biologically be that of a 20-year-old. Obviously, I was wrong, but I thought his voice was amazing either way. I grew up with Nutini's music in the background of every school run and shamefully forgot about him when his discography went silent in 2017. The silver lining to my unfortunate abandonment of his music was rediscovering it. Many artists sing lyrics about heartache and pain, yet with Paolo Nutini you can feel it through the sheer power and anguish in his voice. His lyrical formula for his music is perfected versatility, the structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge/ build-up and then a chorus ending with a mix back into that bridge or build up is so beautifully subverted to fit a song (contemporary masterpieces like Candy, Radio, Coming up Easy to name a few). My appreciation for this man battles to be matched, so you can imagine my excitement when he announced a comeback.  

I always keep an eye out for festival line ups, even if I lack the funds and the actual willingness to go, so I casually came across the TRNSMT 2022 lineup and very uncasually dropped my phone in disbelief (yes this was in a public place). I tried thinking of anyone who would want to travel to Glasgow on a random Friday and then, deliberated whether I actually wanted to do that. A new album was announced not long after this, and I waited patiently for a closer venue. I never actually thought I would get the closest venue as besides Bonus Arena the next closest would be my own back garden. But, despite my nihilism, it was true, he was playing Hull. Although I would've sold my soul for tickets, I fortunately only had to pay actual money and the price of the 5 months I had to wait. 

When the time came, and ‘The Last Bittersweet’ had been engraved onto my brain, I piled into a sold- out Bonus Arena with around 3000 other people to see the man himself. I'm always happily intrigued by the diversity of fans at concerts, particularly in age. There were little teenagers there, but apart from that it ranged from young adults to grandparents. In most artists' contexts, it shows the impact of their music, yet I think here it showed the impact of the icon. After disappearing for a good few year’s, all these people were still here waiting impatiently to hear Paolo Nutini sing, myself one of them.                                  

My incredible photography skills from the night.

His setlist contained mostly new stuff (no complaint, the album was stunning), but my love for his R&B, Motown inspired album ‘Caustic Love’ was awakened through renditions of Scream and One Day. Not to brag, but to brag (I've spent too much money not to), I have seen many artists live and Paolo Nutini is probably the most incredible vocalist in the way he sounds the same on his records as he does a fair few feet in front of you. A prideful shower-soprano myself, I could hardly dream of hitting the notes he does, and I imagine many artists who like using auto-tune a bit too much do to. The most interesting part of the night was his remaster of Jenny Don’t be Hasty into The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks and back into his platinum single New Shoes. It was a surprise for everyone in the audience, but a reminder that artists and their music develop, some people will like it some people won't. Personally, I don’t believe there was a better way for him to come back, he had a new confident sound that he used to reminisce upon and appreciate his roots. 

The best part of the whole gig, however, was the sheer joy he and the band looked to be having on stage. Nutini shared his own doubts about coming back on Radio 1 saying he felt ‘overwhelmed’ after a long hiatus, but really, he had little to worry over. Fans still stand by him and his voice, which are back rightfully ruling the charts. I hope to see more new music from him in the future, without such a long wait. Yet I doubt after his 5-star performance in Hull, I will easily forget him again.