The Original "Duffy News": 6 Feb: Duffy Live@The Pigalle Club, London Jan-Feb 2008

Duffy performed at The Pigalle Club, London UK on 16th Jan, 23rd Jan, 30th Jan and 6th Feb. (Scroll down for some fab photos!)
The performances were all (reportedly) absolutely knock-out! Click here to download the live performance of Delayed Devotion from The Pigalle Club. Check out this (pro-shot) video here. It is alos below thanks to Atim58!!!!

SET LIST:

Rockferry
Warwick Avenue
Serious
Stepping Stone
Hanging On Too Long
Breaking My Own Heart
Delayed Devotion
Mercy
Distant Dreamer

There is a vid of the Stepping Stone performance (on 16th Jan) below:

Below is the Warwick Avenue performance (on 16th Jan) below:

The below review is from here.

In the old days, if you were a budding singer you would have to travel the country in the back of a stinky transit van for several years, living on Ginsters and playing the Doncaster Leopard to an audience who hated you before stardom beckoned. And when it did, you were hard enough to survive all the shit it could throw at you and by the time you walked onto the stage at your own headline gig, you'd have a Bono-sized ego and the self-assured swagger of the Fonz on his birthday.

But those days are gone. We're so hungry for talent that when the merest rumour surfaced that a young singer, fresh out of Wales, might be a Dusty-like white soul sensation, her first ever shows were sold out within minutes of their announcement.

And that might explain why girl-of-the-moment Duffy appears a slightly nervous figure on stage at the Pigalle club. She's almost Kylie-tiny with fabulous bleached-blonde locks and, once-warmed-up, has some nifty Motown-charm-school dance moves.

Her voice is as astonishing as it is on record. Though it's less the sultriness of Ms Springfield and more the klaxon-blast of Lulu (who, like Duffy, recorded at Muscle Shoals studio, famous for its trademark southern soul sound).

Highlights of the set are the stripped-down deep soul of 'Syrup & Honey' and the moody, moving, Bacharach-ian 'Stepping Stone'. If there are doubts, they come from the less accomplished numbers that, live, have a tendency to merge into a Jools Holland-friendly pop-soul murk. But this is our fault, an artist like Duffy (who claims to have grown up in a musical vacuum, sent almost delinquent by her need to sing and escape) needs time to grow and find both her identity and a courage to write songs to match her vocal ability.

Only time will tell what she can do. Patience people

Well I don't know about 'patience people' - maybe that is a good suggestion since we are all expecting so much of Duffy. But isn't it obvious she's a star? Despite mostly positive reviews of the Pigalle gigs I found this thing here which only gives her 3 out of 5 for the gig on 30th Jan and claims the tracks are 'bland'..... erm I don't think so.

This Sunday Mirror review (exert below) from January (taken from here) is quite good - already comparing her to Amy Winehouse and it does admit that the Pigalle was a tough gig - 'full of "impress me please" industry bigwigs'.

With a New Year comes a fresh sacrificial lamb for the music-loving hordes to feast on as a Next Big Thing. Step forward on to the altar blonde singer-songwriter Duffy, playing her first proper gig in London.

So what's the verdict after her first in a month-long sold-out residency at London's premier supper-cabaret club, The Pigalle?

Duffy, petite and stylish in a black evening dress, is certainly a star in the making, but it was all just too, well, polished. Yes, perfection can be a bad thing when your sixpiece, note-perfect backing band have all the edge of a wet flannel. What you really needed was her co-writer, producer and former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler to inject a little indie credibility into the proceedings.

It was a tough gig mind you, packed with "impress me please" industry bigwigs. And, as if that wasn't enough to put the fear of God into the Welsh songbird, Leona Lewis and Madonna producer Dallas Austin had chartered a private jet to fly in 25 of his friends from the States to see her perform.

There was no faulting Duffy's voice though, which has plaintive echoes of Dusty Springfield, but with fruitier touches of Eartha Kitt. There's also some Walk On By-era Dionne Warwick in there and Aretha Franklin, who Dallas Austin has also worked his magic with.

Her songs all sound like classics too, from the torch song-like Serious, to the soaring Hanging On Too Long to the feisty dream pop of Stepping Stone.

But she only seemed to catch light on last track, Distant Dreamer, which she wasn't even meant to play. Here, she totally lost herself in the music and for once, the crowd stopped chatting and were transfixed. It could have been written by Burt Bacharach in his Sixties heyday, it was that good.

With other retro stompers such as Mercy and the jaw-droppingly beautiful Rockferry, everyone is comparing Duffy to Amy Winehouse. And, as well as a heartfelt soulful retro voice, there's also a slight beehive in evidence, although Duffy's was more of a slightly flattened white chocolate Walnut Whip.

But Duffy is a far more wholesome proposition than the Rehab star - perhaps a little too wholesome. She needs to get a little more rough around the edges, really let her hair down and be herself a bit more before she can truly shine.

EDIT: Regarding that last paragraph - Too wholesome? There's no such thing, surely? As for rough round the edges, does that mean musically or doing drugs/alcohol? If musically, check out the latest demo leak with The Invisible Wires (I Wish I Was a Single Girl Again) - this is rough and ready and is excellent. But if the reviewer means "go take some drugs and drink like AW" then forget it Duffy. Making better music,even if "turning bad" would help someone to do that, is not worth ruining your life over. Anyway, back to The Pigalle Club reviews....

There's quite a cynical review here. Claims that Duffy will be the next big thing, but not the next great thing... hmmm call me cynical but I get the feeling this guy reviews ALOT of music.

Here is a review worth mentioning.Pasted in below.
Venue: The Pigalle Club, London
Gig played: 6 February 2008
Review by Matthew Horton
“What do you call beef with no legs? Oh no! I’ve given away the punchline. It was meant to be, ‘What do you call a cow with no legs?’ Ground beef.” The joke was Duffy’s only fudge on a night of precise, sweetly-judged soul, as she brought her four-week Pigalle residency to a satisfying close.

It’s been a fitting venue for this new siren’s retro soul styling - all lounge bar and cabaret stage – and an integral element of the impeccably crafted marketing plan that ensures we all know Duffy is the real deal and a top tip for the year.

Meanwhile, the Duffer is facing up to a whole heap of pigeonholing. She’s had to jump through the “new Amy Winehouse” hoops like any common-or-garden Adele, and is regularly compared to Dusty Springfield – but she doesn’t really sound like her. Like Dusty, and indeed Wet Wet Wet, she’s aimed for a touch of that Memphis soul authenticity, only our Welsh sensation hasn’t actually had to go there. She’s carved it straight out of the valleys.

Vocally, Duffy is more reminiscent of Lulu, perhaps even Eartha Kitt – but is she any good? Well, she can belt out a tune with the minimum effort, and in the memorable singles ‘Rockferry’ and ‘Mercy’, the brooding ‘Stepping Stone’ and the Spectorish echo of ‘Distant Dreamer’, Duffy certainly has the songs. She’s got a bit of stagecraft too, punctuating her performance with peculiar hand gestures like an easier-on-the-eye Jarvis Cocker, and engaging the audience with a beguiling mix of coyness and confidence. Does that work? If she can pull it off, those comparisons will soon be far behind her.

The Independent gives the gig a good review here. The Times reviews it here. The Sun gives a review of the first gig here - their photo below. More photos from 16th Jan gig in this slideshow.

More Photos of Duffy @ The Pigalle Club
There is an excellent slideshow of photos by Dan Griffiths taken at the gig on 30th Jan. Selected images are below. They are excellent close up shots and really capture the atmosphere of the place beautifully.