On June 2nd James Arthur hosted a festival-like concert as part of the ‘Bitter Sweet Love Tour’, named after his number one single and album. The show took place on a radiant Sunday at Zitadelle Spandau, an open-air venue in Berlin, Germany, located next to a brick-stone castle and surrounded by water. The picturesque setting covered in warm sunshine already created a joyful atmosphere among the attendees – ideal conditions for a night to remember.
Once inside, one can observe many fans immediately securing a spot near the stage while others first enjoyed the several food stands and drinks in the back, many of them dressed in merchandise, of James Arthur or even of the support act Only the Poets.
The opener, Only The Poets, is an indie/pop four piece from England consisting of Tom Longhurst (singer), Clem Cherry (guitar), Marcus Yates (drums) and Andy Burge (bass). They took the stage at around 6.30 pm and opened their set with ‘Even Hell’, a song dedicated to finding comfort in music.
The band thanked James for this opportunity first before carrying on with their set, a selection of seven overall very energetic songs. Many people are able to sing the words back and one can even glimpse some self-made signs, and simultaneously Only The Poets make sure to include and encourage the entirety of the crowd to participate, for example bringing them to wave during ‘Gone By Now’ and accompanying the chorus of ‘Every Song I Ever Wrote’ vocally.
After also including a brand new song, the band ended their set with two of their most popular songs ‘Over & Over’ and ‘Jump!’. During the last bit of ‘Jump!’ Tommy announced “Let’s move on to the fun part of the show” as he claimed it’s their job to warm up everybody for James Arthur. He made the whole crowd sit down and start jumping on the count of three to the song’s last chorus, leaving the crowd warm, whirled up and more than ready to welcome James Arthur on stage next.
After a short break, James walks out, himself and his band dressed in all-black, leather jackets and sunglasses, making him look like a true rockstar. He starts off with his current lead single ‘Bitter Sweet Love’
After two songs James confidently greeted the crowd, announcing he’s going to “play some songs from (his) number one album”. You can see clearly how excited the audience is for this show by how many people sang back every word, screaming in excitement whenever James comes their way or interacts with them. Everybody in the front was singing and everybody at the back was dancing as James offered a range of new and old, emotional and energetic songs.
He quickly picked up on the crowd’s high enthusiasm, telling them “Ich liebe euch” (german: ‘I love you’) and noting “this is refreshing, the last crowd was a bit shit” referring to a previous festival where far fewer people knew him. James kept joking and bantering around for a bit before he sat down at a pink piano, then offered a striking performance of ‘Falling Like The Stars’ as all the fans got their phone lights out to create an ocean of “stars”. After this beautiful crowd moment, he made sure to keep the momentum going, asking “Has anybody seen the movie ‘The Greatest Showman’?” to transition into the next song ‘Rewrite The Stars’ that he co-wrote with Anne-Marie for the film’s soundtrack. During ‘Naked’ he let the fans take over the chorus by making them repeat “Naked, naked, naked” over and over again. After this especially touching section of the set, James moved on with a new danceable track and then a couple of slower songs including hits like ‘Train Wreck’ and ‘Car’s Outside’, the latter featuring an electrifying guitar solo, and finally ‘Impossible’ as a climax before going off stage.
After a brief interlude, James gave shoutouts to his live band before moving on with ‘New Generation’ and ‘A Year Ago’. After the crowd once again poured their energy and emotions into James’ performance, he declared “You’ve been my favourite German crowd so far” confirming just how fulfilling this show seems to have been not only for the crowd but also himself. To conclude the night James performed ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ while fans shape a mass of hearts with their hands.
As the stage empties, many fans are left in joy, some in tears. Especially during this most emotional last bit of the set, you could find a great number of fans crying, embracing each other and even slow-dancing in the back, a scene illustrating the emotional depth that lies in Arthur’s lyrics and the human connections that music can create and emphasise.
The moral of the story can be summarised by saying that Seeing James Arthur live is incredibly worth it, for his amazing performance filled with great vocals and one hit after another, as long as you’re prepared to shed one or two tears. For an extra good time, it can be recommended to bring all your friends, force them to learn the lyrics and feel the connection together.
Written by: Carla Libuda
Photographed by: Carla Libuda
Edited by: Marieke Weeda
