Brum Shots

The magnitude of the Birmingham Symphony Hall is often overwhelming when you first walk into the auditorium. The sheer size and height of the place is enough to draw breath, especially when you’ve just walked in off the contrasting vibe of Broad Street…

Jamie Cullum’s entrance to the stage seems somewhat understated for a venue of this grandeur. With a quick bow to the audience on his way to sit at his piano, he could just have easily been nipping out to the shop or hopping on the bus.

A humble start to the show, we’re treated to a mix of of originals and cover songs including Cole Porter’s ‘I Get A Kick Out Of You’ and Ray Charles’ ‘What’d I Say.’ With each song, Cullum seems happy to let the spotlight fall on his fellow musicians for various solos – he seems to be enjoying the music just as much as the rest of us.

He becomes chattier and more animated as the show goes on though. Pouncing across the stage to ‘Everybody Wants To Be A Cat’ and talking about how different his last performance in Birmingham was, a mere week before the country was plunged into lockdown. Like most of us, he seems happy to be back in a world where concerts can be attended without fear of contracting a deadly virus.

The set is full of surprises for both the audience (such as an unexpected instrumental cover of Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing In The Name’) and apparently for the rest of his band, when he announces a change to the set list with a Peter Gabriel cover of ‘Sledgehammer.’ Much of the crowd are delighted when Cullum parades into the stalls for ‘Mankind,’ happily giving out high fives and hugs to anyone he could reach (security staff included!)

The entire band maintain the widest smiles for the entire concert, with what seems to be an incredibly wholesome bond between all on stage. Their professionalism and between them is second only to their incredible musicianship, making it well worth seeing them perform in this world class venue. The euphoric final song with the full band is ‘Mixtape,’ from 2009 album ‘The Pursuit.’ By this late in the show, the aisles have flooded with dancing audience members as Cullum invites them to get closer, and the singalong of the closing notes is deafening.

The show is closed with a couple of solo songs – definitely a welcome chance for everyone to catch their breath! After finishing with a goosebump-inducing cover of ‘What A Difference A Day Makes,’ he strides off stage as casually as he entered. A 2,000 person strong standing ovation is another day at his office.