Exploding like an M-80 in a soda bottle, Jamie Cullum took the stage at Roseland Ballroom, and to thunderous applause, he humbly sat at the piano and began his set with “Photograph” off of his current album Catching Tales. From there he moved into a surprisingly revamped version of “Get Your Way,” delivering it with all the flow and panache of a seasoned MC. His tight musicianship which his fans adore, coupled with spastic skating led into an inspired performance of “Twentysomething.” While slowly undressing on stage and removing the multiple layers of clothing that he began the performance wearing, he went into a haunting rendition of “What A Difference A Day Makes.”
The climax of the show began with an anecdote Cullum told the crowd which lasted straight until the encore. After revealing a rather disturbing dream he’d recently had on holiday, Cullum and his band began a medley of pop covers starting with Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone.” Cullum’s version began expectedly jazzy, and almost on a dime became as upbeat and pop rock as the original. The cover was surprisingly brilliant and displayed what has made Cullum so popular; he’s as musically diverse as the generation he represents so well.
The next pop song in the medley was Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack,” which after some very impressive beat boxing, segued into The Pussy Cat Dolls’ “Hot Like Me,” with a very key line changed to “Don’t you wish your boyfriend was short like me?”
After leading the sold out audience through an extended sing-along, Cullum and his band exhibited a carnival worthy freestyle drum ensemble only to settle down and perform an intimate version of “High & Dry,” with what can only be described as a maddened look in his eyes.
Before giving his final bow after a raucous encore of “I Could’ve Danced All Night,” Cullum announced that after visiting New York once every six months that he was taking some time off to write a new album but did promise to be back in a year’s time. After witnessing Cullum’s revival-esque performance there is little doubt that show will be sold out as well, and with good cause.
