When I first heard a few months back that Lisa was doing a couple of intimate shows in London and Manchester , I couldn't resist booking myself a ticket and getting on a plane from Geneva over to London.
Six years have passed since I had last seen Lisa perform and strangely enough that was in my "now hometown" of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Flight delays due to heavy London fog were making me feel nervy whether I would be able to make it on time so it was a bit touch and go whether the flight would be cancelled completely. Thankfully the plane did eventually take off and I finally arrived at 5.30pm . I dashed from Heathrow across to the City in London and jumped into a taxi after meeting my friends and then we were off to XOYO in Shorditch East London and got there with plenty of time to spare.
The venue was very small but a lovely intimate space for a comeback gig. It filled up quickly , then by the time Lisa arrived on stage around 9.30pm the audience were really rearing to go.
Lisa looked stunning in a claret red velour dress. She was in fine voice too. It didn't take her long before she fell into full swing of being back onstage again belting out the old classics including an exclusive play of Blue Zone days dance hit Big Thing (watch below). That was a real treat for the die-hard fans and went down a storm, including three brand new tunes Stupid Thing, Conversation (strong gutsy ballads) and a great catchy dance tune 'Can't Dance' which in my opinion, has future single stamped all over it.
It would be rude to dismiss Lisa's relatively newly formed band, who were simply outstanding, including some amazing backing vocals from Andrea Grant. It was fabulous to see some of the original line up from back in the day, including Snowboy, Ian Devaney of course andJohn Thirkell on trumpet.
An hour and a half later and the show was sadly over and everyone was cheering for more. Lisa and the band came on for the Inevitable encore and straight into 'Down In The Depths' which led Lisa and her band to her penultimate anthem 'All around The world'.
The audience were left gasping for more and if this performance was anything to go by, Lisa is definitely back and here to stay. I sincerely hope and look forward to seeing and hearing more of Lisa in the coming months ahead. I anticipate a major tour next Spring and possibly some dates in Europe and hopefully an album towards the autumn. Let's watch this space.
Exclusive live performance of 'BIG THING' performed at XOYO, London October 23rd 2012
Lisa: "This is the first ever live version of this song. It set the ball rolling and made me realise that this was the direction I had to go. Enjoy it. X"