Today we got to enjoy almost two hours of Sam Smith’s immaculate voice in a sold out Hallenstadion. We is a super divers audience from the small kids to teenagers to gays to older people. Sam Smith’s crowd represents everything he stands for:
Be yourself and love who you want to love
But before Sam Smith took the stage Lewis Capaldi warmed up the crowd. I was sooo excited to finally see him live since I’ve heard so many good things about him.. and I wasn’t disappointed. He hobbled on stage and started with “Don’t get me wrong” and I was blown away by his voice and I wasn’t the only one. Everyone clapped and wooped and wanted to hear more. Lewis was supported by two very talented musicians for “Fade” and “Lost on you”. After each song Lewis Capaldi said a few words and they were absolutely hilarious. I love the fact that he knows that he’s singing sad songs so he has two lighten the mood with some jokes. Dermot Kennedy could learn from this guy!
As an exception Lewis Capaldi covered “Issues” by Julia Michaels and he did an amazing job! Everyone could sing along and it made for a great atmosphere. He then explained that he twisted his ankle during some football this afternoon and advised us to stay inside and eat pizza – it’s much safe. Let me tell you he’s my kinda guy π The sad songs continued but it gave us a chance to listen to his deep raspy voice. This guy will go all the way! “Rush” and “Bruises” completed his set not before the whole Hallenstadion was lit up with cell phone lights. Just gorgeous or like he would say: COOL!
On time at 9.45 the lights went off and Sam Smith was lifted up on his chair onto the stage which was formed as a triangle. After the first few chords of “Burning” Sam Smith had the people under his spell. The all seated Hallenstadion stood up and hung onto every words he sang and said. Sam Smith waved hello to every part of the audience and he was met with waves and screams back which brought the cutest smile onto his face. Yes, I was that close that I could even see his dimples. He went on to say that he realised that he’s got very sad songs in his repertoire but tonight Sam Smith wants us to have a good time and dance!
And you bet we did! Who would have thought that Sam Smith is doing music to dance to but with “One Last Song” he proved us wrong for the first time. My favourite song “I’m Not the Only One” was already the third song and the Hallenstadion had a huge singalong to it. Have a look into my Instagram stories! Taking us back to the start Sam Smith sang the wonderful ballade “Lay me down”. His voice is just to die for! If you like the way it sounds on the radio or on record you will love it live. The next one is a slow one and a Lauren Hill cover “His Eye is on the Sparrow”. A quick breather before we got up to our feet again to dance to “Omen” featuring Disclosure and sing “Oh Oh Oh”.
Time to hug your concert buddy and enjoy the next two “Nirvana” and “I’ve told you now”. The incredibly talented piano player started and I knew immediately which song this is going to be but hey everyone deserves his solo. After a few mins Sam Smith rose above to sing the 007 James Bond song “Writing’s on the Wall”. Very dramatic! I loved it π Time to dance again! Another Disclosure feature “Latch” got us up again. After that Sam Smith and Brandon – his bass/guitar musician aka his best friend since 4 years ago – sat down together to sing with us “Money on my Mind”
Sam Smith introduced his 8 musicians one by one which I really loved. They are amazing and they are doing a brilliant job so it’s only right that they get to have their time in the lime light too. Sam and the four singers stood in one row and dance synchronically to “Like I Can”/”Best things in life are free”. It looked great and of course everyone sang along. My concert buddy and I and the whole band were two stepping to “Restart”. Such a fun song! After the two stepping it was time to wave to “Baby, You Make Me Crazy”. Being so close to the stage means that you kind of get to see it from the artists view and I loved the fact that you saw each and everyone waving until the very top top row way under the roof.
“Say it first” was next but the most emotional moment came just now. Sam Smith explained that he wrote the next song when his parents got divorced so you could really feel the emotion in his voice while he sang “Scars”. He even managed to make some people cry. “Midnight train” is another slow song where I just sat down and listened to this beautiful voice. My highlight of the evening was “HIM”. What a song! I had goosebumps because Sam Smith turned it into a Gospel like song and it felt very powerful. Like I mentioned he said that he wrote this song so that people can love who they want and after I carefully listened to the lyrics I have to say that I really really love this song. Such a powerful message wrapped up in an incredible arrangement.
It was time to say Goodbye and what better way to finish the regular set with “Too Good at Goodbye”. Again everyone was singing along and the smile on Sam Smith’s face was huge. After an hour and 15 mins Sam and his 8 musicians left the stage. He returned to it by climbing the stairs onto the top of the prism/triangle construction at the back of the stage. He sang “Palace” as a duet with one of his singers called Lucy. That woman can sing! Plus she transported the emotion so well. It was a wonderful moment. After they finished the song Sam Smith hurried down the stairs to sing “Stay With Me” and again the whole Hallenstadion knew the lyrics and sang along. Towards the end of the song red confetti rained down on us.
He then stood there and took it all in – the screams, the woops, the stomps, the claps. Of course he promised to come back and I really do hope that he does! I enjoyed this gig a lot and I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t the only one. The last song after almost two hours was “Pray”. With a “Have a safe journey home – I love you” Sam Smith said Goodbye and left behind an enchanted audience.
Have you seen Sam Smith live? Wanna share your experience with Kekoas Korner? Leave a reply below π
