At the ripe old age of 20, British singer Adele has seemingly mastered her craft. Photos by .
Pardon my French, but when I realized was halfway through her set upon my arrival to the show Thursday night at a painfully early 9:45 p.m., I was pissed. I walked toward the doors of the and couldn’t believe she was already inside blowing minds. I knew minds were being blown, because Adele’s voice traveled out of the sold-out venue and onto the street, even beating out the sound of Colfax traffic.
I had a hard time believing she was only 20. Adele’s striking presence, draped in blacks and knitted grays, was soft but commanding, a tuft of hair bubbling over a low-slung ponytail and her gorgeous pursed-lip smile held high between rosy cheeks.
When I caught up with Adele’s unbelievable performance mid-set, she was chattering in her deep and punchy voice, thick with a region-specific British accent I couldn’t quite pinpoint. As she stepped into “First Love,” the accent mellowed and soaring chords cut through the air, the audience standing quietly in awe as Adele held us in her hands.
“Tired” was interjected with mildly nervous laughs, the song ending with Adele owning up to some forgotten words as the cause for her giggles. Her endearing flubs were welcomed as the packed house hung on each of her quips, waiting for the next gorgeous song to unfold.
A Bob Dylan cover was followed by a graceful tribute to her favorite singer, Etta James, in the form of James’ “Fool That I Am,” Adele doing astonishing justice to both pieces, enveloping the words and making them distinctly her own.
“Hometown Glory” was a brutally beautiful end to her set, and she gave gracious and breathy goodbyes to the audience as she fluttered a set of glittery eyelashes. Lady and band found their way off the stage, but the Bluebird remained dark in preparation for demanded encore.
Adele again stood before her fawning crowd as she asked for the houselights to come up for “Crazy for You,” performing sans her band and joined only by her own guitar work. Her yodels were a daring nod to Patsy Cline, but Adele’s homage to the country legend was piercingly perfect upon delivery.
The band reappeared for one last cover, “Thatap It, I Quit, I’m Movin’ On” by Sam Cooke, before Adele sealed the evening and tore the house down with her hit, “Chasing Pavement.” I left the show feeling blessed to witness a queen of her vocal caliber relatively early on in a blossoming career, and despite obvious comparisons to Duffy and Amy Winehouse, it looked like Adele was set to take over the pop world. Thank goodness.
Bree Davies plays bass in , writes about her obsessions with Iggy Pop and Lil’ Wayne in and repeatedly fakes her own death at . She is also a self-proclaimed addict.
Lucia De Giovanni is an award-winning photographer and internationally known photojournalist. You can view more of her work on her and follow her Project 365, a Photo a Day, on her .
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