THE Regent was fully sold out for the return of Scottish singer KT Tunstall and there was an expectant buzz around the crowd as KT has a reputation for a great live show.

Review: KT Tunstall - Ipswich Regent

THE Regent was fully sold out for the return of Scottish singer KT Tunstall and there was an expectant buzz around the crowd as KT has a reputation for a great live show.

But first there was the support act. Maudlin singer-songwriter Teltur gave us a handful of songs in his moody, awkward delivery. He has a nice voice but he is a little too sombre for me. A wag in the crowd shouted for him to cheer-up and he did indeed play a happier tune, his tribute to Louie Armstrong. He got a nice cheer for this.

After the break KT Tunstall took to the stage in white jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black waistcoat. When she stepped into the spotlight she looked every inch a rock star. She started the show with a couple of warm-up rock tracks which were well received. For her third song she played her hit “Other Side of the World” which got the crowd going and by the end of the fourth track they were all on their feet.

Although KT is only small, she owns the stage, seems to fill it. She has a fantastic warm persona that draws you in so you just have to like her. Gaps between songs are filled with amusing stories such as becoming number one in the line dancing charts.

For this tour she has moved away from the more acoustic sets and has with her on stage a very strong band which gives her a full rock sound that was nicely mixed so that you could hear all the individual parts. She also used the full range of the Regents light show to emphasise the songs. The highlight of the evening for me was “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” which was the first KT Tunstall recording I ever heard. She used a series of tape loops to build up the different parts of the song which she then sang over. This is a really clever thing to do live on stage and it brought the house down.

There is something uncomplicated about her songs; they are very accessible pop. The crowd sang along with her on “Hopeless” and on “Another Place to Fall” she again used tape loops to become her own backing singer. Her live version of “Beauty of Uncertainty” was whipped up to be almost anthemic.

The last song of the set was “Suddenly I See” and again the whole crowd was on it's feet dancing and clapping. I think it's this reaction that enticed the band to come back out onto the stage for a three song encore. We certainly all went away very happy and feeling we had got good value for money. If you didn't get to see her last night then try to get to Thetford Forest on 6th June. You won't be disappointed.

Mark Westall

Check out KT's music