Paolo Nutini, as unique as his name suggests, is not an artist to follow convention. Seemingly unburdened by the often-narrow parameters of commercial success, his presence always carries a sense of metamorphic enchantment. Never one to sacrifice creative control for the sake of the “easy” route, Nutini has shifted across many genres within his four albums and his songwriting is forever evolving. Combine that with an eight-year hiatus since his last album ‘Caustic Love’, where it became virtually impossible to know what to expect from Nutini next. Enter ‘Last Night in the Bittersweet’, the album that’s supported tonight. A set of songs that dive into the perspective of enhanced consciousness. Similar to his previous album, Last Night is an odyssey of extremes. Battling internal struggles of life, love, and the anxiety of ageing. Nutini desperately hangs between trying to maintain stability and throwing it all to the wind. It was this battle that he successfully brought alive on Friday night.
Starting fashionably late, the crowd was humming with anticipation for Paolo’s long-awaited return to Cardiff. The stage erupted into red lights as Paolo’s animalistic screams of ‘Aftermath’ bled out into the open space. Accompanied by a fitting sample taken from Quentin Tarantino’s True Romance (a sultry voice echoing “you’re so cool”), ‘Aftermath’ was a hair-raising start, transitioning into ‘Lose It’, where Paolo engaged in some Lou Reed-styled storytelling, drowning the anxieties of his ‘worried mind’ and encouraging us to let go of ours too. This paved the path for the rest of the night, which was met for the most part with avid excitement.
‘Scream (Funk My Life Up)’ continued, complete with technicolour visuals and maddening stage lights, Nutini’s presence capturing a comic-book-like moment, his every move entrancing us. The beloved single grossed a warm reception and complimented the next song ‘Acid Eyes’ perfectly. Contrary to Scream, Paolo murmured ‘I never told you I loved you, in a tone that was like a drunken confession. The heady atmosphere persisted with some kaleidoscopic visuals of Paolo’s face displayed on the arena’s big screen.
Within 30 minutes the atmosphere sobered. A spotlighted Nutini sat down with his acoustic guitar, now musing on life in a stripped interlude that sadly enough was met with a notable hostility. Although ‘Better Man’ was received well, by the time he performed an understated version of his gothic classic ‘One Day’ – after joking “another slow one, just what you were wanting” – a hum of chat was noted, even empty cups were volleyed from a few. At this point, Paolo inevitably felt the heat, looking emotional as he restarted, and jibing with hostility “it’s not getting any louder any time soon”.
The night’s redeemer came in the form of ‘Coming up Easy’ from his Ivor Novello award-winning album Sunny Side Up. The previously happy-go-lucky, soulful track was undone, yet like always, Paolo sang with his eyes closed. This felt like every word held more significance to him than ever before, especially the bittersweet lyrical motif ‘it was in love I was created and in love is how I hope I die.’ This quietly desperate outro perfectly mirrored his newer song ‘Abigail’ (although sadly not performed), where Nutini dives into a hopeful but ever-growing doubtfulness of finding love, and wanting to ‘get happy before I get old’. It’s something that’s clearly haunting his thoughts more and more these days and made for an emotional performance. The crowd was equally as satisfied with ‘Through the Echoes’, in which Nutini’s passionate singing, along with the sublimely tragic lyrics roused emotions in many.
The final hour ran classics heavy, and Paolo’s deliberate disobedience continued to permeate the night. ‘Pencil Full of Lead’, and ‘Jenny Don’t be Hasty’ were far from the old faithfuls that the less open-minded audience was anticipating. Hoppy trumpet solos were substituted for more heady bass notes, akin to Johnny Cash’s train steady rhythms. Zingy synth melodies complimented the light display with visuals that mimicked a sunrise that successfully warmed the newly perked up crowd. ‘Jenny Don’t Be Hasty’ was galvanic and gritty, now remixed into The Undertones’ ‘Teenage Kicks’. The mashup heightened Nutini’s adolescent angst which culminates in the lyrics about being rejected by an older woman. This new sound felt like something straight out of the Buzzcocks’ canon and perfectly mirrored the sound on ‘Petrified in Love’.
His encore re-riled spirits, in one last emotional catharsis for both Paolo and his audience,. ‘Iron Sky‘ rang out, it was unsurprisingly spectacular. The political song, which the world still constantly regurgitates new meanings for, felt as relevant as ever. Charlie Chaplin’s speech from The Great Dictator, matched with Paolo’s scratchy voice evoked raucous applause from the audience. Behind him, grey noise TV visuals were displayed, as if further emphasizing humanity’s forever increasing ‘out of tune’ relationship with reality. ‘Shine a Light’ concluded and felt like the perfect way to end the night. Caught in the crux of neither happiness nor sadness, it summed up the in-between feeling of ‘Last Night in the Bittersweet’ and its antithetical highs and lows, leaving the audience with an element of wonder about what they just witnessed.
For some, Nutini’s message was lost in translation, but one thing was clear: he will be not shackled into being anyone’s musical puppet. If the lengthy gaps in his presence prove anything, it is that he is committed to the authenticity of his work and doesn’t intend to lose that in his live performances, even at the expense of ruffling some feathers. The chemistry emitted from the band was effervescent and truly showed their passion as performers, and Gavin Fitzjohn, one of Cardiff’s own, clearly felt the encouragement from his home crowd. Paolo himself too was of course, just fabulous. For anyone interested in seeing an authentic showcase of musical expression, then do yourself a favour and let Paolo take you on his intoxicating journey.
