Lewis Capaldi left Nottingham in a Heavenly Kind of State of Mind after performing at the Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, 27th January 2023
Review by Lisa Kaye
Images by Paulwdixonphotography
As excited Lewis Capaldi fans entered the sold-out Nottingham Motorpoint Arena for his eagerly anticipated Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent tour, the atmosphere was pure electric.
As the visual production began on stage signifying Lewis Capaldi’s entrance, the audience screamed. The large black screen which concealed the stage slowly began to rise to the beat of the music and revealed the band, all dressed in white. Lewis then made his angelic entrance from the floor of the stage to the bars of Forget Me, dressed in white jeans and top. As the song came to its crescendo, Lewis didn’t disappoint as a cannon covered the audience in a flurry of white ribbons. He certainly opened the show with a bang!
As the sea of torch lights shone from the 10,000 strong audience, Lewis took hold of his guitar and comfortably began to move around the stage as he sang Forever. The audience sang along, captivated by his amazing vocals. Lewis Capaldi, known for his comic dialogue, then greeted the audience with “Good evening, Nottingham” and then ran from one side of the stage to the other, seeing who would cheer the loudest. A sign stating “I need a big boy” from the audience caught his attention and laughing he confirmed, “I am a big boy!” The audience squealed as he retorted “Talking of my waistline that is!”.
“We are going to have fun tonight Nottingham!” stated Lewis. “We have all come here on a Friday night to sing songs about heartbreak and about people outside of this building who do not love us, am I right?” he quizzed. The audience whistled and cheered. “Sorry if there are any couples in the audience”, laughed Lewis, “Come to my show and in love! – Not on my watch!” he joked. As the audience responded with laughter, Lewis apologised, “I don’t normally offend the audience quite so much within the first two minutes”. After discussing health and safety, he advised those who felt unwell during the performance to make their way to medical professionals. “We just want everyone to be safe and happy” said Lewis, “I’m not sure why people always feel faint at my concerts, maybe…“ he paused for comedy effect, “they just haven’t been in the presence of such sexual prowess!”.
“One last thing” shouted Capaldi above the screams. “No Fighting! I don’t know what it is about my music that makes people want to knock the s**t out of each other. Aberdeen, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, beating the s**t out of each other whilst I’m singing Bruises”. He shook his head in disarray. “We are on a date tonight, me and you Nottingham,” stated Capaldi. “Imagine, we have gone out for a nice meal, in a nice Italian restaurant. I have the steak, you also have the steak, which I think is a bit of a p**s take as I am paying.” He laughs. “We go to a bar, smash a few drinks then back to my place Nottingham for coffee. I then give you the best minute and half of your life. And then you ask for me to sing you a song, and I sing you this”. His comedy is genius and as he begins to play Lost on You, Nottingham becomes lost in his music.
Lewis Capaldi then treated the audience to a new track, Heavenly Kind of State of Mind, from his new album Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent, which is due to be released in May 2023. As Lewis shouted “Nottingham – are you having a good time?” he caught sight of someone in the audience with a carboard cut out of him and the wording “Can I get a selfie with you”. Laughing he invited her up onto the stage. As the young lady called Rebecca climbed onto the stage he smiled for a selfie, and she explained she was at the concert in memory of her friend Jacob, who had passed away last year due to cancer. In a touching tribute to her friend, he then dedicated the next song Before you Go to Jacob. Looking at the twinkling lights in the crowd and hearing the audience singing along for Jacob was incredibly moving and it was impossible not to have a lump in the throat.
As the large black screen came down again to cover the stage, the visual display of moving water was projected onto the screen. It was a delight to watch as the scenery changed to show the sea against the back drop of a sunrise and clouds forming in the sky. The stage production was something incredibly special to watch. Then from up high on top of the clouds, Celestial Capaldi appeared with his keyboard. The audience screamed hysterically as began to play Bruises, followed by Wish you the Best. Even with such a large audience at the arena, there was an intimate feeling to these songs. As the song came to an end, Lewis retorted that he wasn’t even playing the keyboard. Laughing, he held his hands in the air to prove this as notes played. Back in comedy mode, Capaldi stated that the production team had not thought through placing him 20 foot in the air as he had a fear of heights, was dressed in white and suffered with IBS. “My trousers may not be so white when I come back down” he said as the audience laughed and cheered. Touching on his Tourettes and ticks during his performance, his honesty and vulnerability on stage only made the audience love him more with each song he sang.
He then appeared on the safety of the normal stage. As the stage turned to red, Capaldi urged Nottingham to join in his next song Grace. As the crowd sang along and cheered, another cannon of white ribbons was released into the audience. Another member of the crowd then grabbed his attention with their banner which asked him to draw her next tattoo. He couldn’t resist inviting her onto the stage and secretly drawing something for her. As the audience laughed, anticipating what he would draw, he turned to show the camera, revealing a cat’s face, apologising for how badly drawn it was. It was another unique moment of the evening and certainly one that the lady on stage will not forget. His warmth on stage, his down to earth personality and engagement with the crowd was amazing to witness and although he made the audience boo with the occasional reference to Birmingham instead of Nottingham, it was very easy to forgive him. After singing another new song, Leave Me Slowly, he then sang Pointless, thanking the crowd for making it #No1, followed by Hold Me While You Wait, which had the crowd all singing along.
As the audience anticipated that this was the last song of the evening, Lewis disappeared into the floor of the stage. The audience screamed for more and as he returned he didn’t disappoint by stating he would sing two more songs. “I’m going to sing something different,” he said. “Let’s have Love Story by Taylor Swift”. The crowd loved this and went crazy as he began to sing the well known hit. As he sang, his ticks and little laughs demonstrated how comfortable he felt on stage. Even when he got the words slightly wrong and asked the audience to help towards the end of the song, they obliged by singing even louder and encouraging him to the very last note. He ended by stating he had “freestyled it like Jagger!”. As the audience knew the evening was coming to a close, Lewis made a heartfelt comment to them, concluding his thanks and appreciation. “Thank you all for coming tonight and selling out the show, it genuinely means the world to me. It’s not lost on me that you’re all willing to spend your money to come and see me at this gig. I know I take the p**s a lot, but I really appreciate it.”
As the last song of the evening began to a backdrop of the ocean, Capaldi stated, “I am Lewis Capaldi and this is Someone you Loved. As torches swayed in the crowd, Lewis encouraged the audience to sing acapella, which sent shivers down the spine. As he sang the last note and waved his final goodbye to the audience he shouted, “Until we meet again Nottingham”.
I’m really hoping that means we have a second date.
Lewis Capaldi
Photos by Paulwdixonphotography
Review by Lisa Kaye
1st February 2023
Breaking Glass Magazine 