Jessie J Edinburgh Castle

Concert: Jessie J Edinburgh Castle
Date:    17.07.2013
Rating:  It's an entertaining show

I’ve never such a range of ages at a gig, which says a lot about JJ’s appeal. The really young, teddy and sucking thumb just along from me, to the teenage girls on their own, to escorting parents and fans of even more years; all were there. Clearly The Voice has a lot to do with this, as this must have been the first concert for a lot of the younger attendees. I felt sorry for the parents waiting in the longest merchandise queue I’ve ever seen, to be ripped off for paper thin t-shirts.

 

First time I’ve been to Edinburgh Castle for a gig, and it’s a top venue with a really good view wherever you sit. The support act, AME, was thankfully brief, and later than anticipated JJ came on to start with Price Tag and from the off she had them in the palm of her hand. The majority of material was from her debut album, with only one new song. I don’t put this down lack of confidence on what she has been working on, just giving her audience what they came to hear. It’s a ‘show’; it’s not about promoting new material. JJ will never be ground breaking, but what she does, she does very well. It was entertaining, and as such you can’t be really criticised. The best was actually when she did a couple of funk/disco covers from the 1970’s, when she literally did get all of the audience dancing.

 

To gripe a bit, she was on only 90 minutes, including a ‘number’ by her band while she had a costume change, and the chat between song went on quite a bit. The latter did show she meant it when saying we were just the same as her, and she genuinely doesn’t seem to have any star baggage. The stands emptied a bit during the period she was off-stage, but no surprise there as that was solely due to the nature of the female bladder.

 

Giving credit where it’s due, JJ does have a good voice, and she and her management have used the opportunity of The Voice to greatly increase her popularity. Their challenge is, as her young audience grows, is to keep them fans as they mature. The Voice won’t last forever, and while she may keep the current popularity with the next young generation, the key is changing enough to keep them long term, without waiting for the revival tour in 20 years time.