Sam Smith & Gavin James @ Time Warner Arena

Finally, nearly 3 months later, I get to take A to see Sam Smith - her birthday present.  But before the entertainment, and taking advantage of a babysitter, we head to Dandelion Market for dinner.  Upstairs with all the cool kids, we picked a spot at the bar, ordered a drink and perused through the menu.  Food here is tapas so we ordered a bunch different things, only to find that the servings were huge.  Way too much, but what we ate was fantastic.  Downtown Charlotte certainly has more to offer than what it did when we lived here in 2002.

Wandered down to the Time Warner Cable Arena and got our seats (close to the same spot we saw Muse a couple of years ago) and Gavin James was already on stage.  People were paying the usual amount of attention to an opener, but I really felt for this guy.  On stage, alone, in a 15000 seat arena which was only filling up for the main event.  His original songs sounded good, but his best was a great cover of What A Wonderful World.

Sam Smith would not be a performer I'd see regularly, but the boss likes him and I can appreciate a good voice.  He seemed unsure of himself to start with, the size of the place was a bit daunting for this genuinely humbled young guy.  Once he realized how many people were into it and having a good time, Smith loosened up, enjoyed himself and unleashed an incredible voice.  Like Joss Stone, he has a voice that does not match what he looks like, or how he sounds when he spoke between songs.  With one album to his name, he played everything off it and threw in some covers.  Because I don't know his stuff his version of Amy Winehouse's Tears Dry On Their Own, segwaying into Ain't No Mountain High Enough, was my favorite.  Early in the set he did Amy's favorite, I'm Not The Only One.  Smith only had enough material for just over an hour, but finished his encore perfectly with his huge hit, Stay With Me, leaving everyone on their feet knowing they had seen a great singer relatively early in his career.

I initially was worried that the TWC Arena would be too big, maybe Belk or Ovens would be a better size.  I was proved wrong.  The place was as good as full and the sound Smith projected filled the room perfectly.  I'm glad we got the chance to see this show.

 

The Crap Facts:

This is my 390th concert.
This is my 3rd concert at Time Warner Arena.
This is my 35th concert in Charlotte.
This is my 39th concert in North Carolina.
This is my 198th concert in the USA.
Gavin James is the 463rd band I've seen.

Gavin James is the 900th time I've seen a band.
Sam Smith is the 464th band I've seen.