Live Review: Lewis Capaldi wows fans on opening night of Utilita gigs in Birmingham

The 28-year-old Scot had taken a hiatus to protect his mental health after his then recently-diagnosed Tourette syndrome stopped him from finishing his 2023 Glastonbury set.

For some artists, the reason to return to the stage can coincide with a need for better financial security or as part of a redemption arc, but it is clear from the chats in his set that Capaldi wanted more than anything to rediscover the fun of playing live music.

There aren’t many artists who can sell out an arena having been away from music for two years but Capaldi isn’t most artists.

His debut album ‘Divinely Inspired To A Hellish Extent’ was the best-selling album in both 2019 and 2020 in the UK, while the single ‘Someone You Loved’ is both certified 10x platinum and the most-streamed British song of all time, racking up more than four billion streams on Spotify alone.

While his voice remained as impressive as ever, his stage patter was fun too despite him claiming it was the worst of his tour so far.

In his first break between songs, Capaldi managed to hold it together having been handed a t-shirt from the crowd encouraging him to what some might politely call “expose” himself.

He declined the request with grace, pointing out the image on the shirt was “bigger than the real thing”.

Despite being away for a couple of years, it’s clear Capaldi very much still is a master of his art.

During ‘Grace’, ‘Bruises’ and ‘Forget Me’ he paused singing to listen to the crowd singing his chorus back to him.

The lighted wristbands handed out to the crowd pre-show added not only spectacle but also mood to the songs to heighten the experience further.

Capaldi wasn’t afraid to change things up a bit, telling the crowd that he wanted to “spice up” the song ‘Pointless’.

The live version turned the song into a more powerful and edgier version than the one on his sophomore album ‘Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent’.

There were new songs too.

The young Scot introduced unreleased track ‘The Day That I Die’ as a song he wrote at the nadir of his battle with his mental health which laid out clearly the pain he went through.

At times it did feel like the emotion might have got to Capaldi.

As he finished his penultimate song ‘Hold Me While You Wait’, he stood silently taking the acclaim of the crowd looking like he was afraid to speak.

It shows the growth and healing that Capaldi has gone through in the last couple of years that he could continue without his voice breaking.

Capaldi was ably supported by Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe whose sound was clearly as inspired by the soul of Otis Redding as it was the lyrics of Oasis, along with Londoner Skye Newman whose powerful voice was as impressive as was the depth of the subjects she sang about.

While he might not (as he claimed during his set) need to worry about his mortgage, Lewis Capaldi’s return to the live stage is as important to his fans as it is to him.

One can only hope that he can continue to write songs and play with the joy he showed in this show.

Lewis Capaldi played:

Survive

Grace

Heavenly Kind Of State Of Mind

Forever

Wish You The Best

Love The Hell Out Of You

Almost

Bruises

Pointless

Something In The Heavens

Leave Me Slowly

Forget Me

The Pretender

The Day That I Die

Before You Go

How I’m Feeling Now

Hold Me While You Wait

Someone You Loved