This month we caught SIVU’s homecoming gig in Cambridge

by Alex Lucas

After a five-year hiatus from performing, Sivu returned to the stage at the Blue Moon in Cambridge in February, a venue with which he’s familiar, having played The Man on The Moon (as it used to be known) down the years. To a sold-out show and eagerly awaiting crowd, whatever little cobwebs had developed were blown away with aplomb. As a newcomer to Sivu, I must begin this review by saying the break he’d been on didn’t show in his performance, his guitar playing and the occasional visit to the piano were excellent. Which now leads me to believe, by the time he’s regularly playing again, he’ll be an act which readers of this magazine and indeed beyond should dedicate an evening of their time to.

A mixture of newer and older material made up the set list, we saw the first live performance of the recently released ‘Wild Horse Running’ along with tracks such as ‘Better Man Than He’, with which the faithful in the room were more familiar. Being partial, as I am, to music with melancholy guitars, the instrumentation was pleasing and complimented his vocals nicely. Sivu’s ability to transition through his vocal range so smoothly, in both pitch and volume, I also found to be impressive, which exemplifies the emotion behind the instrumentals. This is something which with the luxury of a studio, can appear on any record, but not every vocalist can carry it over to a live show, which stood out for me on
this occasion.

In terms of the whole experience, one thing which I really enjoyed about the gig was the connection between the crowd and the performer. Sivu’s warm persona and sense of humour on the stage means he can hold a room well, he was happily interacting with people in the crowd throughout the show, punctuated with a self-deprecating remark here and there. As the set drew to a close, it was clear from where I was standing that he was going to get some requests from the floor from his back catalogue, which he duly played (with the help of a kind lyric provider in the front row) and rounded off what was a really great show.

Sivu plays the Courtyard in London on 14th June along with an appearance at Boardmasters in Cornwall this summer, and if anybody has tickets for the weekend, he’s performing on the Friday, so go and show your support. I must also mention that the Blue Moon, the venue for this gig, was fantastic. A great place to go and see live music, a vibrant pub with a good atmosphere, which is only a stone’s throw away from the centre of Cambridge. Sivu’s new album drops in June, and when it arrives, I urge you all to go and check it out.
Pre-order here: https://ingrv.es/wild-horse-running-b16-9