On Thursday night Bruno Mars was the latest emerging talent to grace the infamous stage at west London’s weekly hip-spot, YoYo (in the Notting Hill Arts Club). Like any YoYo night, the small basement club was packed beyond capacity with fans, industry heads and London’s contrived ‘cool kids’.
Following an energetic performance from Mike Posner, Bruno took the stage with fellow Smeezington Phillip Lawrence and the rest of his band. He opened with “Other Side”, which, on wax features Cee Lo and B.O.B. Bruno coaxed the sound engineers through the microphones’ technical difficulties during the song, which detracted from the opening.
However, the shaky start was only a hiccup, and Bruno and his boys easily won the crowd over with his interpretation of “Nothin’ On You”, his hit with B.O.B.
“I’ve always dreamed of performing Hendrix in London, can I play some Hendrix?” Bruno asked before rocking out on his electric guitar to Jimi Hendrix‘s “Fire”. He followed this up with “Billionaire”.
Since their releases, I’d always maintained that while Travie McCoy and B.O.B respectively represent on “Billionaire” and “Nothin’ On You”, Bruno’s hooks carry the weight on both of the songs. His performance at YoYo affirmed this notion for me – in my opinion he owned both songs. While his vocals do not possess the utmost strength or range, Bruno understands his voice as an instrument and translates his emotions through it well.
Bruno’s playful character pervaded his performance, from his casual camaraderie with the crowd to the random pelvic thrusts served to us by him and Phil. Bruno brought the show to a close with his debut single, “Just The Way You Are”, which will be released in the UK on 4th October.
Photo via Yin&Yang