Ingrid Andress made a deep and instant connection with her London audience at Scala.
It is easy to forget that Ingrid Andress started off as a songwriter rather than performer, given the electricity of the onstage presence that she has exhibited in recent years. It’s been nearly four years since her last London headline show at The Courtyard. That performance barely scratched the surface of her potential, paling in comparison to the emotional heft of her studio albums. Andress rewrote that score on Thursday with her emotional, vulnerable and intimate performance at Scala. Her performance was a masterclass in building a connection with her audience, yet still showcasing her star power.
The record balanced pretty evenly between her debut album and her latest record – Good Person – kicking off with the title track. Easy early highlights were provided by the boppy, summery ‘Waste of Lime’ that had the audience hollering back every word and ‘How Honest Do You Want Me To Be?,’ before she delved into her ‘sad girl moments’ of the set with acoustic stripped back versions of ‘More Hearts Than Mine’ and ‘Yearbook.’ Here, Andress has an unparalleled ability to pour emotion and vulnerability into the songs that she has covered countless times to date, making them seem like she is speaking her emotions into words for the very first time.
The real star moment of the show was provided about 2/3 of the way through the show, where Andress and her band demonstrated the depth of their musicianship, drawing out two audience requests from the back catalogue, that were neither in the set list or a readily available arrangement – ‘Pain’ and (to the audience’s delight) ‘Bad Advice.’ It was an undeniable mark of the pull she has with her fans that two songs were so keenly desired and of her musicality and likeability in not turning down the requests, creating a magical and memorable moment for all in attendance.
Andress is a captivating performer, who showed in every moment on stage, just how much she relishes and enjoys being there. It was a joyous, cathartic set that she put on display in Scala, which will doubtless have to be translated into far less intimate settings as her star grows and packs out larger venues.
Setlist
Good Person | Seeing Someone Else | How Honest Do You Want Me To Be? | Waste of Lime | Both | Treated Me Good | Boys | Lady Like | More Hearts Than Mine | Yearbook | Talk | Life of the Party | Falling For You | Pain | Bad Advice | Wishful Drinking | Feel Like This | Blue
