© CPU – Frauke Cludts
In the UK, beabadoobee long ago outgrew the ‘hopeful talent’ status, and today the rest of the world seems to be following suit. The Filipino-British singer has certainly accomplished some big things in her career, starting with the hit “Nut water“, or the more popular version “Deathbed (Coffee for Your Head)” with Powfu. After that success, he signed with Dirty Hit, which resulted in him gaining attention from British music magazines. A series of nominations and awards, five EPs and two albums on the counter. And tours followed in support of Clairo, The 1975 and soon Taylor Swift, but Bea never stepped foot on a Belgian stage. That premiere was reserved for La Madeleine, where she released her latest album. Petopia Performed a special show. In her own words, the singer rediscovered her love for the basics of music, which is why she turned this tour into an acoustic journey.
His support act is an example to follow, as Unflirt consists of him with nothing but a guitar and a microphone. In the end it also matched the look of London, because the whole thing was beautiful. At times there were some hysterical urges from the audience which was reflected on stage in a shy singer. Smartphone lights that went up unbidden during the second song, of course, encouraged that idea, though that’s entirely Unflirt’s merit. So it was definitely beautiful, sweet and beautiful, and only half an hour was a good thing. The British have always used the same recipe, which has given us the impression that over time we hear more of the same. It seemed a logical consequence that audience chatter sometimes drowned out his music. Anyway, it has to be said that Unflirt’s music is perfectly in line with beabadoobee’s music and the young British girl definitely fulfilled her role in that regard, but it’s nothing special.
© CPU – Frauke Cludts
If we’re to believe the eager audience in advance, Peabody can push the bar on its own. Unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment, because even though opener “10:36” still caused mass hysteria and screams of “She Plays Boss,” the singer’s dispassionate attitude was particularly striking. Bea mentioned that she felt a little sick after the second song, but at first glance it didn’t seem too bad. Accompanied by his partner, who played an untethered electric guitar, he made La Madeleine a little more comfortable, but unfortunately it didn’t take long for us to get the impression that the duo were stumbling a bit in their set.
The great excitement in the hall seemed to turn slightly to disappointment, though it was clear from then on that Peabody was struggling on stage. She was forced to drink her glass of tea every few seconds and couldn’t get more than a ‘love you’ or a cute smile between songs. After a good twenty minutes, we were already halfway through the setlist and even though the pace was so fast, we could feel the audience starting to lose focus. It was great to be on stage, but Bea made it clear after the cozy “Animal Noises” that she was very sick. That speech was followed by a violent coughing fit, which made it seem as if the early end of the set was imminent.
© CPU – Frauke Cludts
However, giving up isn’t in the British-Filipino’s lexicon, because midway through “See You Seen,” he resumes the song, despite a forced cough again. Then the audience also realized that Bea was struggling so they supported the singer by singing loudly. It is VThis immediately gave her the motivation to keep going, as the excitement seemed to do her good. “Pictures of Us” turned out to be a great second half opener and the flame finally hit the pan with “Speech”. The electric guitar made its appearance and it provided a new layer to the ensemble.
The hits came one after the other, and the guitar inserted itself more and more into the story; A little more groovy on “Care,” a little more rough on “Cologne.” Partly because of this, the audience continued to sing at the top of their lungs, but the really big hits were yet to come. For example, for “Perfect Couple”, all the smartphones went into the air to record the song, and it must be said that it was justified somewhere: the sound version came out a little more honest than the original. “Ripples” turns into a great balcony serenade on this version and the piano is even brought out to close the track “Clue Song”. Bea then said she was very sad, so she sang an unreleased song called “The Way Things Go” to the disappointment of her fans. She did it herself, and thanks to the song’s acoustic guitar and sound, we quickly thought of Meskerem Mees.
© CPU – Frauke Cludts
The finale of the evening, coincidentally fifty minutes later (!), then became the mega-hit “Coffee”. A somewhat predictable ending to an unpredictable set. In that short time, Peabody played no less than seventeen songs, so we flew through the evening at a maddening pace. Of course, this has everything to do with the fact that the British-Filipino was sick and wanted to go to bed early. On a musical level, there’s not much to criticize about Pia’s set – put the cough aside for a moment. We were afraid that such an acoustic evening would soon become boring, and it certainly wasn’t, at least in the second part of the show.
beabadoobee must have imagined his debut on Belgian soil differently, so we hope that the singer can put on a strong show under better conditions (perhaps with a full band), which unfortunately was not possible last night. Somewhat colorless package judgment.
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Set list:
10:36
She plays the bass
Apple juice
Angel
roofs
You lie all the time
Animal sounds
See you soon
Our pictures
talk
Maintenance
Cologne
A perfect pair
Ripples
Gum song
The Way Things Co
Nut water
