Review: Lewis Capaldi @ The Hydro

Glasgow’s own comeback kid continued his triumphant return to live touring in the first of two sold-out nights at the Hydro, performing a powerfully emotive homecoming show.

There’s always something theatrically ominous about a curtain-obscurant stage. It seems to be concert-chic at the moment, see: Charli XCX, Fontaines DC, Pulp. Yet when glimpsed at once again, whilst emerging through the doors into the Hydro’s lower bowl, it still retains a sense of allure as to what’s on the other side of the white sheets, hidden from a rapidly filling crowd on track to reach capacity as time ticks down until tonight’s main act.

Presently occupying the compact space in front of said curtain was up-and-coming Irish singer, Aaron Rowe, who crossed soul-inspired tracks with traditional elements in the form of accompaniment by a fiddle player and an acoustic guitar. He almost literally sought to reach out from his vantage point at the stage’s lip, mere feet from the standing pit barriers. Creating these intimate audience connections under the roof of an arena is no mean feat, but as Skye Newman later occupied the same boxed-in spot with only a pianist to boot, the deliberate trend of staging unplugged supports with powerful vocals became clearer, providing solid foundations for such an effort.

It was only fitting that as the lights went down on the now tightly wound standing pit, the curtain was finally raised to reveal what felt like a rehearsal room with the fourth wall chopped off. As his band assumed positions in a circular formation, Capaldi entered spotlit, making his way into the circle’s epicentre backed by an orchestral overture of his latest single “Survive” – all whilst one could only look on, as close to in the round as you could get for a square stage.

This arena-level notion of intimacy isn’t a foreign one for Capaldi, known for his endearing mix of candid songwriting alongside self-deprecating humour. However, the white-hued floral background projected behind him evokes a more serious reinvention this time; nodding to the in-bloom imagery synonymous with his return to stage, miles away from the man who famously entered to face TRNSMT clad in a Chewbacca mask.

“Survive” itself denotes an emotionally potent reflection for the singer, caught cutting a pensive look between lines, perhaps marking the milestone of opening again to a hometown crowd. The past few years have involved an extended break from music, having overcome a period of mental hardship that culminated in a prematurely ended Glastonbury set. I was lucky enough to catch this same reflection during one of Capaldi’s surprise benefit shows for mental health charity, CALM, in Stirling this May – and it’s hard not to be inspired by the journey from an intimate 200-seater hall to a Glastonbury return, now to an area tour – all characterised by a singular look.

Despite a quick segue into fan-favourite “Grace”, promptly screamed back at him, Capaldi stuck to a headspace where his songs seem to shine. It was only a bit further down the line that he addressed the crowd, having re-established a connection that never truly went away – taking time to showcase his foundational sincerity before making a gag about an audience ‘off their tits’. His impromptu stand-up comedy was therefore less common than some might’ve expected, though it makes sense in the context of this comeback pivot. A highlight to note is his intention to release as much new music as possible before the end of the year, ahead of a new LP tentatively titled ‘LC3’ slated for release in 2026.

The night was characterised by a steady rhythm of new tunes and more recognisable forays into his discography across the hour-and-fifteen-minute-long set. Underpinned by an audience that seemed to yell back either way as the singer made trips from centre circle to the lip of the stage, bolstering the intimate audience connection, the production (and by extension his comeback) revolves around aiming to foster.

“Almost” and upcoming single “Something in the Heavens” stood out amongst the unreleased hits to show Capaldi’s direction headed along the same vein as his previous power ballads, more attentive towards the future in subject topic and brought to life by thumping drums and piano parts. Amongst the main set’s middling third alongside these examples was “Pointless”, where Chekhov’s light-up wristbands handed out to fans at the entrance sprang into life during a climax that emulated U2’s “With or Without You” in the way subtle drums and piano fills spilt over. Chris Martin’s probably screaming in a cupboard somewhere.

“The Day That I Die” is a final unreleased tune to note, one that Capaldi mentioned was his most personal yet. It followed the same trend as above, with an anthemic flair as the posthumous lyrical topic is almost a recurring motif – perhaps it’s an easier vantage point to write from life and relationships in retrospect, whilst craned over a piano. Not much more time to speculate about that, however, as Chekov’s wristbands receded along with the lights back to the blue-ice white that originally opened the show and the similarly anthemic “Before You Go” played out to close the set.

A quick encore ensued, kicking off with the aptly-positioned “How I’m Feeling Now” to act as a coda to Capaldi’s journey so far. Towards the end of the night’s final tune, “Someone You Loved”, as the band had left the stage, and his pianist was given leave, Capaldi stuck around for an a capella outro with the crowd for a moment. Maybe that’s what it’s all about. We’ll see where he goes next, but if the announcement of a massive UK/Ireland stadium tour including a headline slot at BST and Roundhouse festivals is to say anything, Lewis Capaldi will be around for quite some time.