Princess Pavilion, Falmouth
Review by Miles Davis
She looks like a sultry French version of Joni Mitchell and has a heartbreaking voice to match.
Gabrielle Aplin enjoyed a massive love-in at the Princess Pavilion on her first trip to Cornwall.
The name may not be familiar but there can be few people who did not hear her cover version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's The Power of Love used in a John Lewis advertisement.
"I think this is the best gig I've ever done. I've been talking with the band and we want to move to Falmouth and have a residency here," shouted Miss Aplin from the stage.
"I want to marry you," one fan shouted back. "We love you Gaby."
The singer-songwriter had done a lot to earn the crowd's affection. Her set reared wildly from the searing intensity of solo piano numbers such as Salvation to rousing rock 'n' roll backed by guitar, bass, drums and an occasional violin player who modelled himself on Salvador Dali.
The dynamism of the performance contrasted sharply with the anodyne Swedish folk-rock of support artist Andreas Moe.
Aplin's hit song Please Don't Say You Love Me prompted a sing-a-long moment that intensified the mutual love and the song from the John Lewis ad brought about a collective swoon. She made her name with cover versions and her rendition of Fleetwood Mac's go Your Own Way showed why she is such a talent.
Above all else it's the voice – incredible range and power and the capacity to invest her own or other people's lyrics with heart-wrenching emotion. She'd be welcome to move to Falmouth any time.
