Concert Review: Sampha
On Monday, November 12th, Sampha, the English-Sierra Leonian pianist and singer-songwriter, played in front of packed room at Philadelphia’s Franklin Music Hall. The show — which comes in support of his recently released sophomore album, Lahai — is a part of the Lahai Tour spanning Europe, North America, and Australia. Below, I share some of my thoughts on Sampha’s performance.
New Life and a New Song
A couple of years ago, I interviewed bassist and vocalist Ben Williams. The interview took place in 2021, shortly after some COVID-19 restrictions prohibiting indoor gathering had been lifted. One of the things I remember him saying was how, even though he and his band recorded the tunes in the studio, the music took on a new life during performances; how the band feeds off of each other and the audience.
I thought about this sentiment a lot throughout Sampha’s show — the songs, as familiar as they may be, felt like something new in this show. There was a palpable energy and spirit, in the room, which, of course emanated from the stage, but also came from the audience.
There were quite a few tunes that Sampha rearranged for the tour. Of all the songs that were rearranged, Dancing Circles was probably the most pleasantly surprising. In the recorded version, the song starts with a solo piano’s oscillating 16th notes, which gives the song a sort of pensive feeling of anticipation, while the drums and bass come in near the end of the song.
However, in the live performance, the song is notably different, nearly feeling like a new song. Like, I didn’t even know what song I was listening to level of new. I screamed “WOOOOOOOW” for the entirity of the first verse. In this format, Sampha traded the solo piano for a tight slap bass groove in lock step with the drums.
The Band
It should be said, this type of reinvention is done best, and maybe only possible, with collaboration. Beyond Sampha, the band consisted of Rosetta (bass and vocals), Elsas (keys and vocals), Ruthven (percussion and vocals), and Blake Cascoe (drums). Pretty much all of the band members were covering multiple bases, singing and playing their respective instruments.
Interestingly, the band was organized in a semi-circle with Sampha in the middle. Stage layout can be a bit clunky at times, or just not that interesting, but this felt more engaging and democratic. Of course there was a spotlight on Sampha a lot of the time, but I think there’s something to be said about being able to see all of the people you are performing with in an unobstructed manner. As an audience member, it made the show feel like a jam session at times; like the band was listening and responding to each other and not just playing pre-planned parts.
Dynamic
Listening to his new album, I was reminded of how dynamically strong Sampha’s songwriting can be. From the quiet interiority of tunes like (No One Knows Me) Like The Piano and Can’t Get Close to the full-on, intensity of Blood On Me, the range of Sampha’s performance and writing were abundantly evident. These songs shined especially bright during the live show.
What Happened to Jonathan L. Seagull?
Every fan has their “I wish [insert artist] performed [insert song]” moment after a show. Rest assured, I’m not above such comments! I came into the night (selfishly) wanting to hear Jonathan L. Seagull — it’s probably my favorite song from Lahai. The song is pure bliss! But, on the other end, Sampha performed Suspended from his new album, another one of my favorites, so I can’t be that upset.
Overall, it’s an excellent live show! If you have the chance, it’s certainly worth checking out!
