One of the things you’ll quickly learn about me is that I have a passion for 90’s pop-pop/rock music. I guess you know it already if you read my Spice Girls’ gig review.

It was a time where a lot of female singers or bands with a female lead vocalist broke into the music scene: Spice Girls, The Cranberries, The Corrs, Texas, No Doubt, Alanis Morissette and, of course, Sheryl Crow.

I saw Sheryl Crow yesterday for the very first time, and it took me back to my younger years, when I used to sing my favourite single “If It Makes You Happy” in my bedroom, with a hair brush as a mic. Don’t laugh! I was belting it! =)

It did make me happy (see what I’m doing here?) to find out she was playing the Royal Concert Hall, which is my favourite venue in Glasgow. I saw 2 gigs there before (The Pretenders and Hanson, yes, I really wasn’t joking about being a 90’s fan) and the sound is always absolutely amazing.

Colin McCleod was the support act, and he gave us some very good tunes, playing the guitar and singing with a raw voice. He reminded me of someone, I couldn’t put my finger on it, and my friend gave me the answer as he had the same feeling as me: Rufus Wainwright.

I would really like to hear him with a full band! It was a very nice set.

Then I finally heard Sheryl Crow’s recognisable voice and the first thing I could say after a few songs is that she gives plenty of room to her musicians. The live arrangements give everyone a chance to be in the spotlight. I really enjoyed that, it didn’t feel like there were a superstar and her band. They work as a whole.

It was the kind of gig that keeps me entertain until the end. Most of her songs are very catchy and it never gets boring. She was pretty talkative and she said it herself, she was “very happy to play a 2 hours set”, after being the support act for Phil Collins and The Eagles lately. We could definitely tell that she enjoyed every minute of it.

It seems like she made the setlist thinking of her fans, as she almost apologised for playing a couple of songs from her forthcoming album “Threads”, which will be out on August 30th. I guess she knows that we were all expecting to hear her 90’s best tunes.

And what a pleasure it was indeed to hear all these songs that we’ve never forgotten, such as  “All I Wanna Do”, “My Favourite Mistake” and, of course “If It Makes You Happy”!

She told us a funny story about “All I Wanna Do” by the way: she thought it was a throw away song when it actually got her where she is now. “This proves how little I know about music,” she said with a laugh.

The new songs are pure Sheryl Crow, a mix of country/rock vibes and “Soak Up The Sun” kind of pop.

“Prove me Wrong” is a hit for sure, as I found myself singing along when it was actually the first time I was hearing it. The chorus is so addictive and easy to remember! The studio version features Stevie Nicks and Maren Morris and has been out since June 5^th.

I have to mention the amazing live version of “Everyday Is A Winding Road”, ending as a rock’n’roll song. I loved it and I really didn’t see that coming!

She also uses a sort of whistle voice sometimes, and that made me realise what a wide vocal range she has. She makes it sound so easy. I couldn’t believe she is 57!

The whole show was brilliant, nothing was missing for me to have the best of times.

“Threads” will be a collaborative album featuring her long-time friends and artists who inspired her to be a songwriter, and she mentioned that it will probably be her last. She wants to focus on releasing individual tracks.

Let’s hope she’ll still be touring in the future, as the nine-time Grammy award winner showed us last night that she’s still a hitmaker and an incredible live performer.

To see the full setlist, click here!

It all started with a phone call from my father in autumn 2018: “What do you want for Christmas?”

I seem to remember it took me half a second to answer: “I’d like to go and see the Spice Girls in Edinburgh!”

Yes, I’m 30 something and I used to be a Spice Girl in my younger years, like all of us, teenage girls in the 90’s. Funny story: I will never forget my mother’s face when I asked her if I could go to a costume party dressed up as Geri in the Say You’ll Be There video. I was 12. Oops.

(I’m sure you all remember, but, just in case, Say You’ll be there Geri):

Anyway, 50 minutes in the virtual queue on Ticketmaster later, my father finally got me the Holy Grail: a ticket, in the seating area, for the Spice Girls gig in Edinburgh on June 8th. OH-MY-GOD.

June couldn’t come soon enough!

And finally, it did. Dressed up as Mel B, (as I didn’t think walking around in Scotland wearing Geri’s iconic Union Jack dress was the best move) here I am, in a bus to Edinburgh.

Murrayfield was full of Spice Girls that night, and I found myself sitting next to the 3 other Spice Girls, Mel C, Emma and Geri. It was meant to be!

It was about 7:30pm when the support act, Jess Glynne took the stage.

I didn’t really know what to expect. She’s very trendy now as she releases hit after hit.

Her songs are very catchy, and she knows how to work a crowd. Her vocals were on point, but it’s fair to mention that her backing vocalists also did an amazing job. I really enjoyed the live arrangements, especially on Rather Be that she mixed with My Love.

She managed to build up the best of vibe and was definitely a great choice as support act for the Spice Girls.

After a wee while, the 4 remaining Spice Girls finally rose from the front section of the half moon stage, opening the show with “Spice Up Your Life”. It totally put us in the mood!

From that moment, I felt like I was partying with 67 000 friends, singing our heart out and giving our best dance moves. (“Stop” is definitely my fav!) 

After a few songs, the girls took a moment to talk to the very enthusiastic crowd, while Geri wrapped herself in a tartan blanket.  It wasn’t the only tribute to Scotland: Mel B talked to us with a decent Scottish accent, Emma held an Irn Bru can on “Holler”, and they started to sing a bit of 500 miles by the Proclaimers when introducing the band.

I was very pleased that they put Something Kinda Funny in the setlist, as it’s one of my favourite tracks from the album “Spice”, but though the setlist itself was perfect, I have to admit that the order wasn’t the best. The girls did 3 slow songs in a row “Viva Forever”, Let The Love Lead The Way” and “Goodbye” and it kind of killed the vibe for me.

Fortunately, the girls then delivered the super catchy “Never Give Up On The Good Times” to start a new set and this second half was very festive right until the end.

Some of the high points of the show were to hear the crowd singing “Say You’ll Be There”, and the wristbands that had been handed out and that were flashing to the beat gave Emma’s long high note on “2 Become 1” a magical dimension.

They belted out their iconic hit “Wannabe”, wearing a sparkling version of their original outfits from the video and it was already time to leave the stage, after telling us what an amazing crowd we were. The whole night felt like a dream!

I know that for some people, the Spice Girls tour is just a business thing, like, “yeah, of course they reunited, they need the money”.

Well, I never had this feeling that during the show. I’ve been following them of social media for years, and they’ve never stopped hanging out ever since they split up in 1998.

They were very spontaneous, holding hands, hugging and supporting each other throughout the gig. There is no doubt to me that friendship never ended and that they were truly happy to go on tour together.

I felt a real connection between them and their fans, and this show was one of the most impressive ones I’ve ever seen… The staging was breathtaking with fireworks display, confetti, the Spice ring and the big screen delivering messages of love, acceptance and empowerment.

The Spice Girls put on an incredible show, celebrating 25 years of friendship with some of their most dedicated fans.

To see the full setlist, click here!