Amy Macdonald Live at the MildMay Club Review.
Described by tonight’s performer, Amy Macdonald, as “feeling like being back in the 1970s”, the venue for our latest socially distanced gig is the Mildmay Club in Stoke Newington, London. Surrounded by a small gathering of friends and with her dad watching on from his caravan in Scotland, this is the Scots first chance to run through some of the material from her just-released new album, “The Human Demands”.
Stripping back some of the material for the show, Macdonald jokes about warming up for some of the songs in full view of everybody. Midway through the hour set she also admits that, as it’s been forever since she last played a proper gig, her memory has left her. Following a rollercoaster year, the Scot is using this as a chance to brush off some of the live gig cobwebs while raising money for a fantastic cause, #wemakeevents. It’s a movement close to all our hearts with Macdonald pointing out that “this show isn’t about the artist, it’s about the behind-the-scenes people. Events wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for these people, they’re the backbone of our industry.”
Ahead of the set, the video for her new single “The Hudson” gets an airing. Taken from the new album, the song, inspired by stories from her father, matches everything a critic said recently when describing the album as “Heroic, hopeful and Springsteen-like.”
Taking to the small stage, the songwriter doesn’t display any nerves as the set gets underway with “Spark”. After admitting she’s more nervous about the small crowd of friends watching than the thousands watching at home, she hits her stride with “Statues”, the first of a smattering of offerings from the brilliant “The Human Demand.”
Now onto her fifth album, she winds the clock back to 2007 and one of her earlier singles, “Mr Rock & Roll” before diving straight back into the new album in the form of opening track “Fire” followed by “Bridges”. Still fresh on the racks, Macdonald reflects on the album admitting that it’s nice to have something to focus on before adding her own positive thoughts on the future of the live event industry.
Bringing out her acoustic guitar, Macdonald reworks “Give It All Up” before her new single “The Hudson” gets a workout leading into “Dream On”, the lead single from 2017’s “Under Stars” album with the songwriter recalling distant days when “we were allowed to hang out with each other.”
During a short break, the Scot answers questions submitted by fans where we find out she doesn’t like wine, her favourite venue is Barrowlands in Glasgow and one of her most memorable nights saw her hanging out with U2 where Bono admitted to her some of his favourite U2 gigs were at the legendary Glasgow venue.
Back to the stage, the night ends with two more tracks starting with the title track of her new album before Amy ends the evening with a rousing rendition of her “This Is The Life”. With tour dates now booked in for next year, Amy hopes they will go ahead and, judging by the reaction from fans at home, there are a fair few in agreement with her as tonight provided the perfect way for her to kickstart the cycle for her new album while providing support for a cause close to the hearts of everyone involved.
You can find out more about the album here: https://www.totalntertainment.com/music/amy-macdonald-announces-new-album/
