Live: Flo Morrissey @ Bush Hall

London-based singer-songwriter Flo Morrissey played a show at West London’s Bush Hall as part of her first UK headline tour following a busy year which included slots at Glastonbury, Green Man and End Of The Road festivals, in support of her debut studio album Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful which was released earlier this year.

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Bringing her wispy, pastoral sound back to London, the now Paris-based singer was in fine form in front of the 200-strong crowd. This was always going to be a gentile show, given Morrissey’s summery, free-flowing sound. But with her band comprising just a keyboardist/guitarist along with cellist James Douglas in addition to herself on acoustic guitar, an even more stripped down sound than features on Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful was presented.

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

“Hi, my name is Flo Morrissey, thank you guys for coming” she said before beginning her 13-song set with album-opener Show Me, the delicate guitar work and sombre sound perfectly at home in the former Edwardian dance hall. Noticeably nervous, the Notting Hill-native introduced first single Pages Of Gold next as such before nervously laughing out “sorry, that was a really bad introduction.”

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Album track Betrayed followed, the audience entranced by the singer’s gentle delivery, many sitting cross-legged on the floor of the venue. Her limited years did show though during Sleeplessly Dreaming however, as she got the giggles and had to stifle laughs towards the end of the song, “I don’t know why that happened, sorry”, she apologised to a very forgiving crowd.

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Next was Tuxedomoon cover A Manner Of Speaking, which Morrissey described as having first heard a version of by French cover band Nouvelle Vague. She disclosed that she’d been living in Paris for the past two months and so enjoyed playing it “it’s not in French, but c’est la vie” she jested, enticing laughs from the crowd. The 20-year-old’s voice for the song, while still distinctive, took on an old-school jazz vibe and, left on stage on her own following the departure of her band, the show took on an even more intimate feel.

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Continuing on her covers theme, she took on Tame Impala tune Yes, I’m Changing, the song given a complete make-over with an acoustic guitar-driven rendition overlaid with Morrissey’s signature vocals in stark contrast to the electronica original. Morrissey’s band re-joined her for album track Wildflower, the downbeat track dealing with unexpected loss.

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

For album track Why, Morrissey took up position behind a keyboard and immediately forgot how to start the song faced with an unfamiliar instrument. But once she got going, the delicately keyed notes coupled with Douglas’ gentle cello bowing took her sound in a new direction.

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Describing final track of the main set, the album’s title track, Morrissey commented, “This next song is our last song, thank you so much for coming and listening. It’s called Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful, I’m not all doom and gloom!”

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Flo Morrissey (Kalpesh Patel)

Following cheers for more, the Londoner returned to the West London stage solo. “I’m going to try something a bit different for the last one” she said, introducing Billie Holiday cover Don’t Explain. “I’m going to try it A cappella”, she said to cheers from the crowd. With little to no instrumentation filling out Morrissey’s sound, her delicate, sometimes warbling voice is clear and precise, making the 20-year-old mesmerising to watch and demonstrating just how strong a voice can be without embellishment

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000V9_L.zXjtFc” g_name=”Flo-Morrissey” f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”t” f_fullscreen=”t” f_show_watermark=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_mtrx=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”600″ height=”450″ f_constrain=”t” bgcolor=”#ffffff” bgtrans=”t” btype=”new” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” twoup=”t” trans=”flip” tbs=”4000″ f_ap=”t” linkdest=”c” f_topbar=”f” f_bbar=”f” f_bbarbig=”” f_smooth=”f” f_up=”f” target=”_self” ]

Kalpesh has more music photography up on his Flickr stream here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/somethingforkate

Black Spiders

New Black Spiders Tour Blows The Cobwebs Away

Hard rock band Black Spiders have been around for a while. Having formed in 2008, they delivered a brace of well...
Triumph Of Death (Roland Moeck)

Tom Gabriel Warrior’s Triumph Of Death Announce Hellhammer Live Album

The impact of Swiss extreme metal forefathers Hellhammer is one that still resonates around the global metal scene...
Jungle (Filmawi)

Jungle Announce Major Outdoor Manchester Show

UK production duo Jungle have announced a major outdoor summer show headlining Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl on...
BLACK GRAPE 2023 PROMO SHOT BY PAUL HUSBAND scaled

Black Grape Declare Pimp Wars

Black Grape have just dropped Pimp Wars, the second single to be taken from their forthcoming album Orange Head which...
Punk Rock Factory (Press)

Punk Rock Factory Take The Fun Down Under

Punk Rock Factory are a band on the rise. Their seventh album of pop punk covers has just been released, and the...
The Courettes @ The 100 Club (Pauline Di Silvestro)

The Courettes Close Their UK Tour With A Dynamite Double Header

This show at the 100 club was the last night of The Courettes current UK tour, ahead of their upcoming US leg that...
Chris Shiflett of "The Churnups" @ Glastonbury Festival 2023 (Kalpesh Patel)

Foo Fighter Chris Shiflett Sits Down With Nile Rodgers

On the newest episode of the Shred with Shifty Podcast, Foo Fighters guitarist and Honky-Tonk frontman Chris Shiflett...
Randall King at Bush Hall (Pauline Di Silvestro)

Randall King Brings The Honky-Tonk To Bush Hall

Tonight, Bush Hall’s ambiance transforms. The vintage West London theatre could easily look like a museum or a...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing