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3rd March 2004
This cheeky wee piano prankster can play!
Jamie Cullen
Lanie wants to ruffle Jamie's hair, but in a sisterly sort of way!
Is it just me, or does every thirty-something woman wish Jamie Cullum was their wee brother?... He'd make the best wee brother EVER! I just want to ruffle his hair and have play-fights with him and talk nonsense for hours down the pub.
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Jamie Cullen
@ The Brighton Centre

But there's a lot more to this exciting young performer than his boyish good looks and naughty sense of humour. On Saturday night at The Dome in Brighton, he had the sell-out audience simply spellbound.

His two-hour show was a perfect mix of album tracks from the sublime and hugely successful 'Twentysomething', punctuated with a few quirky and delightful surprises.

Jamie Cullum is like a man possessed when he's on stage - and his energy is infectious. He jumps around like a manic cartoon character - and his favourite toy is of course his piano.

Not only does he tinkle it's ivories, he stands on it, leaps off it, lies underneath it and kicks it, and plays every edge of it like a set of bongo drums (at which point all I can think is 'ouch, his poor little hands!').

And get this - the cheeky wee piano prankster can play the guitar as well! It was kind of odd seeing him standing at the mic strumming, but of course he pulled it off - adorably.

Among the other surprises JC had in store for his fans during Saturday's show was his unique version of The Who's 'My Generation'. Die-hard Who fans would probably call it sacrilege - I'd call it genius. From the moodily mellow verses to the raucous chorus, Jamie Cullum makes jazz ROCK!

If only the producers of The Brits had let him and Katie Melua perform this song on the night as they'd wished, and not forced them to do a not-so-brilliant version of The Cure's 'Love Cats'…

Other highlights of the night included the frighteningly funky cover of the Pharell Williams featuring Jay-Z track 'Frontin', first performed in Jo Whiley's live lounge on Radio One and now being released as a double-A side alongside 'These Are the Days' (out March the 8th).

And you've just got to take your hat off to someone who can switch from Radiohead's 'High and Dry' to 'Singing in the Rain' and back again so seamlessly. It was amazing.

My brother fantasy was further fuelled when Jamie sat on the stage with his legs dangling over the edge and then proceeded to jump off and wander among his audience crooning - if I'd been close enough I would have invited him to sit on my knee… but let's not go there.

Let's instead mention JC's highly accomplished six-piece band whose musicianship was polished and whose girly backing vocals gave us all a good laugh.

The climax of the show was a good old sing-song with the whole of The Dome on their feet and singing in perfect harmony, followed by his new single, the aforementioned 'These are the Days', which had a merry band of fans boogieing down the front.

And then to top it all off, he went all big brother on us and sang us a lullaby to send us on our way. Bless him.

Review: Lanie Whiting


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