Tonight has been a long time coming for Michael Kiwanuka. Following the release of his self-titled third album in November 2019, he was forced to cancel his initial run of shows in March 2020 due to illness, and a pandemic-induced touring pause then held this UK tour in limbo for two-and-a-half years. Celebrations for his Mercury Prize-winning album had to wait and he duly mumbles a sincere thanks to the 10,000-strong Alexandra Palace crowd for sticking around for his return.
Itâs a fitting scene, too, given that we’re just a stoneâs throw from where he grew up in Muswell Hill, situated at the bottom of the snaking route up to Londonâs highest venue: âGrowing up, I didnât even know there was a venue up here; weâd just skate around the park until we got chucked out,â he says of his teenage self.
Patience and consideration have long played a crucial part in his story. An earnest debut album (2012âs âHome Againâ) gave way to gnarlier experimentation (2016âs âLove & Hateâ) and by the time he reached his self-titled third album, he produced the best songs of his career, where psych-rock nestled up to â70s soul. It aptly warranted its instant-classic tag, and proved that our most promising artists thrive when they can create at their own pace, and on their own terms.
He provides one final agonising wait, though: tonightâs opening number âPiano Joint (This Kind of Loveâ) begins with a gentle thud on the kick drum, and Kiwanuka goes largely a capella to a patient audience. Itâs so quiet, you can hear the emptying of glasses at the bar, as light still streams through the venueâs glass ceiling. Itâs a trick he repeats on âRestâ, a Bill Withers-style number; at no point does he ask for silence, but simply commands it.
The show oscillates between this tenderness and the electricity. Kiwanuka is an unlikely rock hero â his voice gritty and stage presence reserved â but he proves you donât have to be a Harry Styles-type gyrating on stage to hang with the best of them. âYou Ainât The Problemâs rockânâsoul is accompanied by a last of Vegas-style blast of lights and ‘Living In Denial; is similarly euphoric, even if the approach is to just play the song and let the chips fall where they may.
Itâs the quieter, more drawn-out moments that linger the longest. The one-two punch of âLightâ and âSolid Groundâ ends with strobe lights and Kiwanuka, alone, sat at the keyboards in a trance-like state. Itâs the kind of live moment that you could live in forever, a stasis between this moment and the next. But after the period weâve waited to hear these songs in a venue as large as this â and Kiwanuka himself waiting his whole career for a gig on home turf â it tastes all the sweeter. This is an artist at the peak of his powers and, most excitingly, you sense he could even exceed them.
Michael Kiwanuka played:
‘Piano Joint (This Kind of Love)’
‘One More Night’
‘You Ain’t the Problem’
‘Rolling’
‘I’ve Been Dazed’
‘Black Man in a White World’
‘Rule the World’
‘Hero (intro)’
‘Hero’
‘Hard to Say Goodbye’
‘Rest’
‘Light’
‘Final Days’
‘Solid Ground’
‘Falling’
‘Living in Denial’
‘Home Again’
‘Cold Little Heart’
‘Love & Hate’
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