Concert Review: Martina McBride – London, UK

15 years ago Liv Carter 8

More than 10 years Martina McBride‘s European fans have been patiently waiting for her to perform on this side of the Atlantic. It meant that for many, even long-time fans, this current European tour would be their first ‘Martina live’ experience.

Outside the venue, the Indigo2 in London, in the GA queue, I found fan club member Mark from London who had seen Martina at the Coloseum in Nashville, TN during CMA Fest a few years back but had never seen a full show. He was looking forward to hearing the songs from current CD ‘Shine’ as it is his favourite. Inside, lining up for their seats in the balcony, were Steve and Michelle from Birmingham. Steve is a veteran of Martina shows, the London performance being his 14th. For wife Michelle it was her very first concert ever, quite a start. ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’ was on Steve’s wishlist along with ‘I Love You’, eventhough he knew that’d be a long shot. I also chatted with a nice gentleman from Alaska, and his wife, whose names I didn’t catch, but the hours before the show reinforced my belief that there is nothing quite like country music fans getting together!

Defying all stereotypes of country fans, the audience was about as diverse as you can imagine. One look around the room was proof of Martina’s very wide appeal. Every age group was represented and drawn from just about every ethnic group residing in the UK. There were people in evening wear, Johnny Cash t-shirts and David Villa football jerseys. And with this crowd dancing to and singing along with the pre-show playlist, made up of hits such as Keith Urban‘s ‘Days Go By’, Lady Antebellum‘s ‘I Run to You’, Jason Aldean‘s ‘Hicktown’ and Darius Rucker‘s ‘Don’t Think I Don’t Thing About It’, it was very clear that there is an audience for country music in Europe.

No opening act meant that when the lights dimmed, Martina took the stage. After an intro reminiscent of a prize fight, she walked out looking great in black leather pants, a boho top and dark jacket and opened the show with cautious renditions of ‘When God Fearing Women Get the Blues’ and ‘Wild Angels’. The crowd responded with a warm but not quite roaring welcome. This was an audience of connoiseurs, who were not just going to cheer for anything. By the 6th song, ‘Happy Girl’, the nerves were gone and the crowd had warmed up. Lengthy rounds of applause followed the songs now. Martina didn’t get it for free but after a totally flawless performance of ‘Concrete Angel’ she received a standing ovation from almost everyone up in the balcony and such an overwhelming cheer from the crowd at her feet that she had to blink away a few tears. Seasoned pro as she is, she kept right on singing. After a few more songs Martina explained how emotional it was for her to receive such warmth and love from an audience in a foreign country, one in which she had not sung in over a decade. When she thanked the fans, she was genuine and gracious. This was really great to see from someone with her amount of awards and multi-platinum records. Martina does not take anything for granted, not even after years of experience.

Her years of experience showed themselves in the way she chatted and exchanged banter with the crowd between almost every song, really building a connection, in the ease with which she dealt with repeated shouts for certain songs, and in her carefully choosing her moments to let the crowd take over the vocals.

The bigger songs were kept for the end of the show with ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ (watching Martina deliver this song is an experience!), ‘Anyway’ and ‘Where Would You Be’ all played one after the other. During the last of those I was really baffled by how such a big sound can come out of such a little woman! ‘This One’s for the Girls’ had the whole place dancing. Show-closers were mega-hits ‘Broken Wing’ and ‘Independence Day’, both delivered with immense power but still enough restraint to stay just south of over-singing.

A word needs to be said about her very talented backing band. All wonderful musicians, they were clearly attuned to each other, were having a ball up there and each spent some time in the spotlight.

The duo of encores consisted of a very fun rendition of ‘Summer of ’69’ and a giving-it-everything delivery of ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’.

To say this was a great performance is not even beginning to do it justice. Martina stood in a 2000-capacity venue with no big stage production, special effects or costume changes. Yet, with nothing more than her big voice she managed to turn this into a big show. With talent like that, who needs stage props!

Martina promised it would not be another decade or so before coming back and when she does, I highly recommend attending. The Irish fans are in for a treat next week!

Liv Carter

Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
Liv Carter

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