Live Review: India.Arie, Joss Stone

Flanked by a talented nine-piece band, Joss Stone is a generous and effortless performer, all smiles and coquettish giggles. From her small frame she belts that powerhouse voice, one moment ferocious and sexy, the next huskily purring. The groove is restrained and smooth, and older hits are covered early on: You Had Me features a fun call-and-response section of 'yeahs' that melts seamlessly into Super Dooper Love. Slower numbers (Jet Lag and I Don't Wanna Be Your Landlord Anymore) lose some of the momentum, perhaps showing that some of what's missing is the soul. The band shines in upbeat, sexier numbers and the guitarist especially drops some impressive solos. His last shred of the set fittingly begins the reworked The White Stripes' Fell In Love With A Boy. Right To Be Wrong is the glorious encore.

Where Stone was all style and glitz, India.Arie is pure sincerity and soul. Tonight is not a concert but a 'songversation'. Quotes are screened across the back of the stage, and it is as she says, 'part party, part church' (and part Powerpoint presentation), with her beautiful blend of soul, folk and gospel. I Am Light opens the show as a prayer, Video starts the party, and I Am Not My Hair joyfully ends with an unveiling of Arie's closely-cropped 'do from beneath her scarf. She is reverent in her performance and playfully grins as she spins on stage when her band takes over. Interludes play as Arie exits and enters the stage over the night, and she is talking whilst refreshing herself with a towel on her face, as if in a room of friends she does not need to impress or hide from.

Don Henley's The Heart Of The Matter becomes a mash-up of Katy Perry's Roar and Lorde's Royals, and Joss Stone returns for a jam on Talk To Her. Arie makes reference to her journey in finding the way to be herself on stage and grow as 'break-down, break-through, break the shell, elevate and fly' throughout the evening, giving her life and songs a poetic context. Break The Shell is prefaced with the story of Cicely Tyson (“the Maya Angelou of the theatre and acting world”) as the “prophet, dark as the night” in the song who helped her embrace life again when she was at her lowest. A medley of tunes from Journey To India follows and includes a duet with her drummer, and then her keys player (and musical director), who later gives a soulful and dynamic rendition of Brown Skin.

She ends as she began, with a prayer. Ready For Love unites the room and an astonished audience member is invited up to sing, eliciting a spine-tingling belt.