Concert review - Adele at Birmingham's HMV Institute

Adele

HMV Institute, Birmingham

Record breaker Adele was close to tears at a sell-out gig in Birmingham - never mind the emotional crowd.

The Londoner thanked her fans for their support as she took to the stage at Digbeth's HMV Institute last night.

Kicking off her set with Hometown Glory, the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter sang hit after hit with much material from her new album 21 including I'll Be Waiting and Don't You Remember.

The thing that sets Adele aside from her counterparts is her genuine interest and banter with crowd and coupled with her unmistakeable cackle she really tapped into the heart and soul of her audience, while she also filled the crowd in on her own wardrobe malfunctions which included fag burns in her outfit. Between songs there were also plenty of anecdotes and

Adele also let people in on the story behind some of her songs, such as the Set Fire To The Rain, which was sparked from a conversation with a friend about a lighter.

With little more than three lampshades and her band on stage, Adele let her voice do the talking belting out hit after hit which included a cover of The Steeldrivers' If It Hadn't Been For Love. Many of her songs are ballads, but there were some uptempo numbers such as Right as Rain.

And she proved she doesn't need any fancy dance routines or pyrotechnics, just her voice and a guitar for tracks such as Someone Like You.

With so much emotion, tons of soul and an abundance likeability it's not hard to see why Adele is quickly becoming a real nation's sweetheart.

And breaking down during a performance of Make You Feel My Love, to which the whole audience appeared to be gently singing along to, only endears you to her even more.

With an encore of Someone Like You and finally Rolling In The Deep, it was a rare treat to see a live act of this calibre.

Review by Lisa Wright.