LEGEND LENNY

Jun 28 2009 by Liz Lamb, Sunday Sun

LENNY KRAVITZ at 02 Academy Newcastle

LAST time I saw Lenny Kravitz live the singer was at the top of his game playing to a sell-out crowd at Wembley Arena and revelling in chart success both here and in the States.

That gig, almost a decade ago, has since become the stuff of legend among me and my best friend who rate it as one of our top five best-ever concerts.

So it was with trepidation that I went along to review his Newcastle gig at the more intimate location of the 02 Academy. Would it live up to the heady days of Wembley?

The singer has been off the music radar for a while now and has barely registered in the music charts since the success of his Greatest Hits album in 2000.

Would the fan base still be there? Would the songs still make you throw your hands in the air and rock out?

I needn’t have worried. The venue was packed to the rafters and Kravitz again proved what an experienced and multi-talented performer he is.

He can sing, play instruments and engage the crowd like a true superstar musician and let’s face it, he is also very easy on the eye.

Though the singer could have trailed through his Greatest Hits album track by track instead he treated fans to new songs and launched into jam sessions with his eight-strong band.

Some of his most famous tracks were still there. Ballads Believe and It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over were enough to send shivers down the spine of his most ardent fans and resulted in a mass sing-along.

Kravitz himself is a crowd pleaser. At one stage he encouraged fans in the upstairs balcony to rise to their feet and clap their hands before jumping off the stage and greeting gig goers in the front row.

His set ended with a fitting rendition of Let Love Rule before the musician returned to the stage to perform his biggest hit Are You Gonna Go My Way?

Wembley may have been the stuff of legend but this opening gig of his UK tour may have just gained a place in my top five gig list.

Welcome back Lenny, you’ve been missed.

LIZ LAMB