Beautiful Amnesia

It was the most honest gig I’ve been to in a long time.

For all her fame and super-stardom, Emiliana Torrini was down to earth and almost shy. She talked more than any musician I’ve seen and much to the audience’s delight shared stories that were potentially so embarrassing we mightn’t have told our best friends. Let’s just say that oversized Sloggi underwear and pubic hair were part of the mix as were her band members’ incredulous “I can’t believe she’s saying this!” expressions. Priceless. She is just delightful and so incredibly alive. There is no doubt about that. I read somewhere that cute and eccentric would sum up Emiliana perfectly and I can’t think of a better way to describe her.

For someone who admitted to being uncomfortable on a big stage, it was actually her slight awkwardness that accentuated her charm as she fumbled for words and forgot lyrics to a song or didn’t seem to quite know what to do with her hands. It was amazing to be right up the front where I could see every squint of her eyes and every exaggerated face she made to either make us laugh or to get a point across. Somehow she managed to achieved both very easily without being smooth and rehearsed. Whether Emiliana was telling her stories or singing her songs, she did so with the natural grace of someone brutally candid. Often, stories and songs flowed in and out of each other as naturally as they stayed together.

She said this before launching into her song “Big Jump” …

I met this person that completely inspires me because I realised that when I met him, that it takes a lot of bravery to be happy … and it’s kind of safe to just be … you know, comfortable or whatever but I’m not going to go into that …

This touched me infinitely.

Her voice was mesmerising and faultless – whenever she sang any hint of awkwardness faded as she disappeared behind a world that only she can see behind closed eyelids. Her left hand was always clenched into a peculiar fist and once in a while pulled at the hem of her dress in a way that was very natural for her. This is how she sings her songs. This is Emiliana Torrini. It is rare for me to feel like I had a glimpse of the real person but that night I did. And that made all the difference.