Paloma Faith / Ronnie King and the Hustlers

Tonight's show at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) starts with two 'living statues' posing on the stage, followed by some fun and energetic R'n'B tunes provided by Ronnie King and the Hustlers. They are a five piece band with guitar, upright electric bass, drums, sax and a tattooed, behatted lead singer. It's steaming in the venue but the crowd get a little bit sweatier by dancing along to songs like the classic blues track 'Flip, Flop, Fly' and a Tom Waits cover 'Way Down in the Hole'.

The main attraction, Paloma Faith, totters out clutching a bunch of white balloons and introduces the evening as the first showcase for her first solo album. She teases the audience, pulling the stage curtains aside just enough for a wind machine to send a flurry of paper strips in to the crowd. She hands out the balloons as the curtains draw back to reveal the spectacle of a giant recumbent doll, white balloons, oversized dominoes and chairs that look like they’ve been borrowed from a nursery, and her band – an attractive looking lot on bass, drums, keys, guitar and three backing singers. They launch straight in to a soulful 'Broken Doll'.



The last time I saw Paloma play was at a festival a couple of years back, accompanied only by a keyboard player. Now her star is definitely on the rise, evidenced by the stage décor and props, and full band, as well as the number of professional cameras at the front of the crowd. She looks amazing tonight in a tiny black skirt, patterned tights, a long-sleeved bodice, feather fascinator and patent platform shoes. The image seems important as she's a very visual artist and her acting background no doubt helps with the dynamic performance, movement and expression for the songs – she dances, sways, climbs over the chairs, collapses, postures and interacts with the band and singers. It's all very playful. Her vocals, which could have done with being a bit louder in the mix, are blues-soul style, and have been compared to Amy Winehouse.

Highlights of the set, aside from all the visual entertainment, are the current single, a rocking 'Stone Cold Sober', 'New York' written about Paloma's ex-boyfriend who left her for another lady – New York City, and a confident cover of Eurythmics 'Here Comes the Rain Again'; Annie Lennox is an inspiration to her. We are invited to Paloma's "happy place" and gentlemen are asked to "get their notebooks ready" for the next song 'Romance is Dead', which has Danny Elfman style (Edward Scissorhands score) opening bars and a refrain of "all your dreams are just a kiss away". One of her older songs features later on in the set, "a favourite from the old school", called 'Love Ya'.



The encore is 'Play On' and Paloma asks the crowd "what would we do without music?". Indeed, and if you like yours in the style of soulful pop, the debut album 'Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?' is released in September. If you fancy being transported to Palomaland for the showgirl's brand of colourful escapism, then catch her live. She's playing at Latitude, Standon Calling, and Bestival and has a few UK dates in the autumn.

Set List:
Broken Doll
Stone Cold Sober
Upside Down
New York
Romance is Dead
Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?
Here Comes the Rain Again
Shake
Love Ya
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Play On

FUTURE GIGS