Adele, Electric Factory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Powerful soul music; somehow no one cried

The line just to get into the Adele show was getting longer and longer as we arrived at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia and made our way to the bar next door to grab some food. Unfortunately, their kitchen was really backed up and we had to finally head over to the show hungry, not the best start. By this time, the line just to get into the show was wrapped around the building and around several other buildings. I had frankly never seen anything like it before, though it was only my second time at the venue and probably the first time in about a decade.

Despite the length of the line, it moved quickly once the doors opened and we were still able to get a pretty decent spot, only slightly to the left and not more than 35 feet or so from the stage, so the night was getting much better already. The opening act, The Civil Wars, an indie folk duo comprised of singer-songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White, were one of the best openers that I had seen in quite a while. Mixing simple chords with complex vocal harmonies, they were a beautiful way to start the night. They seemed to really be enjoying themselves and each other on stage and had great chemistry. We were quite disappointed to find out later that they weren’t a couple as we definitely assumed that they had to be sleeping together. Perhaps it’s an open relationship.

Adele took the stage to thunderous applause, beginning by singing “Hometown Glory” mostly acapella, then being joined by a large backing band. Despite being relatively early in her career, she’s already developed a number of solid hits and crowd favorites, including selections from her modestly successful debut album “19” and her sophomore smash hit “21.” The inspiration of the majority of the songs on the latter mainly stemmed from a recent breakup and she truly bares her soul in both her lyrics and her delivery of them. I was also pleased to hear her cover the Steeldrivers song, “If It Hadn't Been for Love,” which the Steeldrivers had included in their set the previous week when we had heard them at Jazz Fest. The power of Adele’s voice is something that few of her contemporaries can match, and she already easily deserves comparison to voices like Aretha, Mariah, and Christina Aguilera. She’s also quite a presence on stage, playing up her delightful British-ness to her American audience, telling jokes, and espousing her appreciation for her recent success. My one grip however was that the acoustics didn’t seem properly adjusted for such a voice-centric performance and the over amplification of the drums, guitars, and bass at time took some of the focus off her singing. Fortunately, her voice is so powerful that she was able to compensate for the bad acoustics and still sound pretty good.

Approximate Setlist:
Hometown Glory
I'll Be Waiting
Don't You Remember
Turning Tables
Set Fire to the Rain
Daydreamer
If It Hadn't Been for Love (Steeldrivers Cover)
My Same
Take It All
Rumour Has It
Right as Rain
One and Only
Love Song (The Cure Cover)
Chasing Pavements
Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan Cover)
Someone Like You
Rolling in the Deep