Jessie Ware at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (29 Apr 2018)

“Dave Chappelle licked my face!”

Soulful UK pop singer Jessie Ware confessed a tale of her wildest moments from her last time in Minneapolis, as the entranced crowd at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis laughed along with her story, also enraptured by the singer’s musical return to this stage for the first time in five years. 

Before that, Swedish opener Albin Lee Meldau charmed in an unassuming, downbeat way with a short set of indie, neo-soul songs, culled from his two EPs and upcoming full-length, About You (due June 1 on Astralwerks). Things got serious with ‘Lou Lou’ (a song that’s actually ten years old) and its story set against his country’s opioid epidemic, “a Swedish Trainspotting” he called it. But, things soon lightened up with the new ‘6^th Street’, set in Austin, TX during SXSW (described as “Ikea on crack” by Meldau) and navigating through their downtown inebriated. 

“Let’s leave it on a positive side” Meldau said, finishing with the new album’s title track, “let’s be a little bit happy together” launching into the retro crooner, and finishing to earned applause.

After a break and pre-show music by Kate Bush and Prince, lights dimmed for the intro of Jessie Ware’s eighty-two minute headlining set- she, in a bright red dress and joined by a five piece band, each in a white mechanic’s jumpsuit (looking like her musical pit crew) with the new album’s title down each sleeve. 

The set started gently and dimly lit with the new ‘Sam’, a song co-written with Ed Sheeran about her husband and impending motherhood, from Ware’s third studio full-length, Glasshouse (Island Records), released last October, but things quickly gained tempo with the clap-a-long of ‘Your Domino’ and 2012’s ‘Running’.

“Minneapolis, it’s been a while” Ware confessed, “…it’s been too long”.  Between songs, she took time out to catch the audience up on her last five years, including having her daughter.  She also cheekily related the story of what had happened after her previous Minneapolis concert, at this same venue in November 2013.  Ware and band had ventured over to First Avenue, to catch the end of Skrillex’s set and found herself at the after party, meeting comedian Dave Chappelle, who presumably went in for a kiss, but ended up licking her cheek and ear.   

Composing herself, the set continued with ‘Thinking About You’, dedicated to her new daughter, showing off her formidable vocal range on it as well on the song as well as on her latest single, ‘Alone’.  Mid-set, she admitted, “this is the part where I pretend I’m in a boy band, sit on a stool… but maybe the stool’s broken from soundcheck” so Ware instead stood, though the audience would benefit as she said, ”I’m going to add a song, because we haven’t been here for a while” before going into a vibrant acoustic Bobby Caldwell cover.

The new album’s soaring first single ‘Midnight’ (with its ‘Bennie and the Jets’-esque piano chorus) was helped on especially from Ware’s crack five-piece backing band, and the fact that her keyboardist and percussionist were both female, and more than able to harmonize with her as backing vocalists. 

After a spiritual ‘Say You Love Me’, the encore commenced straight away, with Ware and band not leaving the stage and returning, but instead going right into the electro-soul of ‘Tough Love’, the burning title track of her previous album, co-penned by Benny Bianco. 

The evening ended with Ware’s breakthrough hit, ‘Wildest Moments’ and the crowd singing the chorus into Ware’s outstretched mic as she smiled in gratitude.  Whatever wildest moments may have transpired after this show, we’ll likely have to wait to hear until the next time Jessie Ware plays Minneapolis, which hopefully, won’t be long.

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