Amy Macdonald, Glasgow review: 'she connects'
Even in the cavernous enormo-dome of the Hydro Amy Macdonald managed to convey a sense of intimacy, writes Paul Whitelaw
Amy Macdonald, Hydro, Glasgow ★★★
The Bishopbriggs-born singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald knows how to enrapture a Scottish crowd. Even before she arrived on stage during the first of two nights at the Hydro, she'd already fired 'em up with a sing-a-long playlist blasting Sweet Caroline and I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).
A potentially risky gamble – how do you follow that? Fortunately, the show itself was an unabashed crowd-pleaser. One of her biggest hits, Mr Rock & Roll, was delivered – replete with glitter cannons - within the first 20 minutes. Macdonald, clearly, wasn't messing about.
A likeable pro, she managed to convey a sense of intimacy in this cavernous enormo-dome, which is no small feat. Macdonald started out playing in tiny venues like the Brel bar on Glasgow's Ashton Lane, hence why she's still able to connect with large crowds on that warm, cosy level. She makes it look easy.
Caveat: some of her melodies and arrangements are undeniably quite derivative. The Hudson is an almost exact splice between R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion and Lana Del Ray's Video Games; Dream On is constantly on the verge of turning into Don Henley's The Boys of Summer; and the spectre of Whisky in the Jar hovers over most of her more Celtic-flavoured numbers.
But at her best – and we got quite a lot of that tonight – Macdonald writes catchy songs born of lived experience. She also has a good, strong voice, a dynamic contralto steeped in almost Cher-like drama. Whenever that voice soars over one of her favourite musical tricks – a propulsive double-time beat – the resulting bombast is hard to resist.
Backed by a no-frills, fairly rocking band, Macdonald left me in no doubt as to why she's so popular. She connects.
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