Corinne Bailey Rae Show Review, Seattle 4/12

Corinne Bailey Rae Show Review

Corinne Bailey Rae played Seattle’s Moore Theater, the oldest remaining theater in the city, built in 1907, a  perfect venue for Rae, whose music is also timeless, soothing and ethereal.

(For those non-Seattleites, you might remember the Moore Theatre from Pearl Jam’s 1992 video, ‘Even Flow’.)

When Corinne Bailey Rae took the stage at Seattle’s Moore Theatre the crowd went wild. People cheering, “We love you Corinne!” and “Welcome back, Corinne!”

Welcome back, indeed.

After Corinne’s husband of seven years died unexpectedly in 2008, Corinne went into seclusion and stopped writing music and performing. It took her months to recover but eventually she picked up the pieces and started writing again. Surely it couldn’t have been easy.

The Sea, released in January, was written both before and after Jason Rae’s death. It’s a deep and surprisingly raw album and while listening to it you can’t help but think of Corinne’s grief – and growth – over the past couple years.

Hearing Corinne sing live was a magical experience and by being there with her in the same room you felt a connection with her.  Anyone in that audience who had lost someone special in their life was there quietly (some not so quietly) cheering her on.

One would think singing about your deceased husband would be impossible. And especially singing the heartfelt lyrics that you penned from the bottom of your heart about him . But somehow Corinne musters up the inner strength to do it. She shares her grief with the audience and must feel the love in return.

Corinne came onstage barefoot, almost symbolic of her vulnerability. She sang songs from both her debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae (Till it Happens to You, Like a Star, Put Your Records On) and her follow-up, The Sea (Till It Happens to You, Are You Here, Paris Nights/New York Mornings, Love on it’s Way, I’d Do it All Again, Feels Like the First Time, Diving for Hearts, I Would Like to Call it Beauty and The Sea) and she threw a couple covers in there as well.

I was pleasantly surprised when Corinne sang a rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing. Little Wing is definitely one of, if not my single favorite Hendrix song. She pulled it off beautifully. Corinne closed with an amazing version of Que Sera Sera. The cover songs she chose blended in as if they were her own.

Sometimes with live music, as Forrest Gump would say, is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. Rest assured, with Corinne Bailey Rae you are going to get what you expect. Her jazzy, angelic voice is just as enchanting live as it is on her CD’s, maybe even more so.