Yahoo! Music Review

Gig played on 22/11/07

Celebrity-baiting as a bloodsport is nothing new. Just think of Socrates (whose execution by his fellow citizens was the original and ultimate "Big Brother" eviction) or Joan of Arc (who knew about suffering at the hands of Heat). But it's a sport that's become uglier in the last decade, partly because of the internet and its lawless gossiping, and partly because the endless parade of reality show contestants and witless heiresses has bred a new contempt for the famous.

Little wonder Amy Winehouse - currently the tabloids' number one quarry - seems both fragile and confused tonight. Perhaps she suspects that for every die-hard fan, there are two who have come in the voyeuristic hope of seeing an on-stage meltdown. That they don't get one seems more testament to a terrific backing band and Winehouse's astonishing voice than the virtues of abstinence.

From the moment she takes the stage 50 minutes late, Winehouse seems unsteady on her feet, hanging her guitar around her neck more as a shield than an instrument. Add to that some incoherent chatter - forgetting what day it is at one point - and the scene seems set for disaster. Yet the moment she starts singing a pitch perfect "Addicted", we're reminded of what put her in the firing line in the first place.

It's not a question of charisma, Winehouse radiating surprisingly little given her current ubiquity. It's not even a question of songs, since too much of tonight's set lapses into the retro muzak producer Mark Ronson has made his own, notably a drearily tasteful "Me And Mr Jones". What makes Winehouse special is her brutal emotional honesty (the first album was called "Frank" for a reason) and the gorgeous, rumpled, old-before-her-years soul voice she uses to express it.

It's a voice that sounds masterful on the sprightly, brass-cushioned Motown of "Tears Dry On Their Own", teasing on "Love Is A Losing Game" and utterly, heart-wreckingly overpowering on "Back To Black", tonight's most moving song. And if "Rehab"'s playful defiance is subdued tonight (understandable, given what an albatross it has turned out to be) her encore cover of "Valerie" is brilliantly exuberant and whips the crowd into a last burst of enthusiasm.

Whether Winehouse should be on-stage at this point in her life is doubtful, to say the least, but her obstinate, undeniable talent saves a difficult night. We can only hope that in the long run it saves her from the tabloids, too. Celebrities may be two a penny these days, but gifts like hers aren't.

by Jaime Gill