POWERFUL: Adio Marchant performing during his previous tour of the UK
In a little room right at the top of Birmingham’s Institute, Adio Marchant – performing under the moniker Bipolar Sunshine – steps up to the mic with his band in tow, ready to deliver a stunning eleven-song-strong set list.
Don’t be fooled by the mention of little room, though. Sunday (March 30) saw the Temple room filled with a powerful and engaging vocal performance, delivered by a man who has been in the music industry long enough now to know how to please a crowd.
And please us he did. After opening with the rhythmic ‘Drowning Butterflies’ from his second EP of the same name, Adio beckoned the crowd closer to the stage with a cheeky grin before soaring through the rest of his set; compiled of his previously released material and some new songs, in a bid to whet the appetites of an already anticipating crowd.
‘Trouble,’ also from the second EP released by Bipolar Sunshine in November of last year, warmed the Birmingham crowd up before Adio tested the waters with newer track, ‘Are You Happy?’ The title is telling of the sound Bipolar Sunshine delivers; although the lyrics are often sad and have a real sense of realism to them, ultimately Adio and his band delivers upbeat melodies to almost soften the blow of the hard-hitting words.
Another new song, ‘Deckchairs on the Moon’, followed before ‘Blossom,’ which was one of the first songs he released on his debut EP Aesthetics at the beginning of the summer when Bipolar Sunshine really began to turn some heads.
A stunning and delicate original cover of A$AP Rocky’s ‘Long Live A$AP’ came next, before ‘Rivers’ raised the tempo some more. ‘I Feel Alive,’ one of the stand out songs of the night, got everyone singing along even though it was yet again fresh, yet to be released, material from Bipolar Sunshine. Meanwhile ‘Where Did the Love Go,’ his latest single, raised the bar even higher.
Continuing the more mellow sounds, ‘Fire’ fitted in perfectly as the penultimate song of the night, with the unique talk-singing in the middle of the track making it one of the most original songs Bipolar Sunshine has at his disposal.
STUNNING: Adio Marchant, alias Bipolar Sunshine, wowed crowds in Birmingham’s Temple Room
‘Love More Worry Less’ brought the night to an end, prompting the biggest crowd reaction of the night with a sing along en-masse; arms still raised aloft as Adio and his band received a deserved applause and exited the stage.
These are all songs which could – and should – fill the biggest of rooms. With the announcement coming just a day after the gig that Bipolar Sunshine will headline London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire later this year, one of 2014’s hottest prospects is certainly living up to expectations.
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