Showing our age here with the visit to Canary Wharf to see 90s songstress Gabrielle. She was fab. Despite the passages of 20 years since Mr Gig saw her at Shepherd's Bush Empre, she still has an exceptional voice. "Out of Reach" has to be one of my personal favourite songs. By the end of the hour-long show, everyone was up on their feet despite the "cabaret" seating at the East Wintergarden location. Rise indeed!
Probably the only niggle I had was with the audience. Must you grab the woman who is singing her heart out's hand, and then turn away to your companion for a widely-grinning selfie? It seems kind of rude to me. But maybe I'm just an old grump. It must be a thing now.
Further points in Gabrielle's favour (not that she needs them). She also happily posed for photos with Mr and signed his vinyl records after the show.
The location itself was a bit corporate as it is in Canary Wharf, but the people running it were tops. I also liked the easy access to the food court two levels below. We went and had an Itsu noodle pot before the show.
Since we're in easy reach of the place, we'd be happy to go to more local gigs like this one. The wine was also reasonable and decent. East Wintergarden, add more dates!
Leddra Chapman opened up. She has a pretty soprano voice, but probably the main complaint is that she was a bit shy and didn't connect with the audience. She chatted between songs but we were all quiet. Perhaps it was actually the audience that was a bit shy. Still, nice tunes. She also happily signed her CD. Which I will listen to again.
Stars out of 10: I'd give it a 9. Venue is tops, and Gabrielle is tops.
