Live Review | Lizzy McAlpine @ Eventim Apollo, London

Emily Malia

Journalist based in Derby – for the time being. Interests include: anything Taylor Swift makes, Richard Curtis films and fashion that involves dressing like a witch or Alexa Chung circa 2012.

Stipping it back to basics, Lizzy McAlpine returns to London to wow fans with her heartbreaking lyrics and spine-tingling voice

The line outside of the Eventim Apollo felt endless, as I watched groups of young girls in long white skirts and bows in their hair circle the venue, forming what seemed to be a never-ending line. The long skirts looked like the uniform for a Lizzy McAlpine show and, clearly, I didn’t get the memo.

That was a recurring theme throughout the night – moments that felt like a secret between Lizzy and her fans. Whether that be lyrics that required a response from the crowd, inside jokes she told, or certain words screamed back at her, it became very apparent that these fans weren’t just there to see her play, but to feel a part of something bigger.

Taking a new approach to touring, the singer decided on two things: she would not be having any opening acts, and she would not be standing up – like, at all. She confessed during her set that her last tour was something she felt was difficult and so made a conscious decision to do what she felt was ‘good for her’. In this case, that meant stripping it back to basics.

The set was performed the way that the album ‘Older’ was made – sat down with her guitar and bandmates, in what looked like a set that had been taken straight out of a ‘tiny desk’. As an audience member, this felt like the perfect cosy show for an evening in October, but as a music fan and gig-goer, I couldn’t help wishing they’d give us a little something more.

The band walked onto the stage and jammed together, as dreamlike sounds of tweeting birds built up the moment that Lizzy began to sing the opening track of the album, ‘The Elevator’. The setlist was built around ‘Older’ and performed almost in its entirety and mostly in order. As the crowd warmed up with a few songs, the singer went into what quickly became an obvious fan-favourite track, ‘Movie Star’.

Then, lifting the mood a little with the song ‘All Falls Down’, Lizzy sang the empowering line “23 and a sold-out show” which was met with a cheer from the sold-out crowd of the Eventim Apollo and swiftly followed by the far more relatable line “22 was a panic attack”, which the crowd sang back to her.

If there’s one thing Lizzie McAlpine is good at, it’s writing a relatable, gut-wrenching line. And those lines just kept on coming. The melody carried the crowd throughout the song ‘Doomsday’ and everyone screamed the lyrics that have circulated TikTok since the release of ‘Older’: “The funny thing is, I would have married you, if you’d have stuck around”. As the song built to a powerful crescendo, just when I thought it would go even further, the band died out and we were left, yet again with the isolated sound of Lizzy’s melancholic voice.

The standout moments of the night were the two surprise songs that were intentionally changed throughout the tour. Her moving cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘The Gallery’ was the first of these. Despite her pianist taking a break from the tour to go and play for the icon herself, the singer confessed that she had only recently discovered Joni Mitchell. And yet, she sang the song so effortlessly, as if it had been taken straight out of her own notebook. Hearing McAlpine’s voice, surrounded by silence, as she held the crowd in the palm of her hand, sounded heavenly, and I can only hope she covers more of Mitchell’s catalogue because of this.

The second moment was when the star unexpectedly appeared back on stage for the encore. Keeping with the tradition of the night, the crowd erupted into screams. Why? Lizzy began to sing the heartbreaking anthem ‘Angelina’, for what I think was the first time on this tour, and judging by the reaction, it’s another fan-favourite song from ‘Older’.

It was clear from the get-go that Lizzy Mcalpine was done with trying to impress the masses, appealing to her dedicated fans instead, and, more importantly, herself. This was proven when the singer made the crowd wait until the very end of the set each night to hear her biggest song, the viral track, ‘ceilings’. Doing this felt like her way of saying ‘listen to what I have to say first’, ensuring that people appreciated her new body of work, and weren’t just there to hear the hit song. And it was worth the wait. The band helped to create a stripped-back cinematic version, amplifying her vocals and letting the lyrics speak for themselves, as the crowd (of course) harmoniously sang the words back to her.

Listen to ‘Older (And Wiser)’ here: