Tonight, we are doing a three-time first time. Firstly, the venue, and very good it is too, secondly we have been waiting to get to see Orianthi for a while now, but more of her later, and thirdly support act, James Bruner, this Nashville-born young man gave a cracking performance, high energy, good tunes and received the applause he deserved. He reminded us a little of Remington from Palaye Royale. Vocally very strong and knows how to get a crowd involved. The future looks bright for this young man, and we can’t wait for a return visit to our shores with a full set – one to watch.

Now, Orianthi. This Australian guitar virtuoso, who later reminisces about actually supporting ZZ Top when she was only 16! Before playing ‘Sharp Dressed Man’, which appears on her latest album, ‘Some Kind of Feeling’, and being picked by Michael Jackson to play on the This Is It Tour, playing with Alice Cooper, and various other collaborations along the way, and building up quite a big fan base with her own material.

‘Some Kind of Feeling’ is her fifth album, and her albums are like her live performance; varied. You get blues, rock, pop, and acoustic numbers. The acoustic section showed off her phenomenal finger work – she has fingers like lightning, and it was mightily impressive. Apart from her excellence on the guitar, her vocals are excellent, with a hint of vulnerability. The sold-out crowd stood transfixed on this glamorous guitar goddess, and after thanking the crowd for coming out, she reassured them that she would be back later in the year, which received the roar it should have got. Leaving the mesmerized crowd with a storming version of ‘Voodoo Child’, we went into the wild windy Manchester night, with the knowledge that we have just seen someone very special indeed.

Photos by Geoff Griffe
Review by Jenny Griffe