What to expect if you’re off to see Paolo Nutini at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena tonight

Paolo Nutini plays to a sell-out crowd at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena tonight, Saturday 10 December

We have waited a long time to see Paolo Nutini back on stage but if you’re lucky enough to have tickets for his upcoming performance in Liverpool, the wait will be worth it.

We took a trip to Cardiff to get a sneak preview of what fans will see and hear when the Scot takes to the stage at the M&S Arena next month and you can read our review below.

Doors will open tonight at the M&S Bank Arena at 6.30pm with Paolo’s support on stage at 7.45pm. Tonight’s support act is yet to be confirmed. Paolo will be ins stage at 8.40pm and he’s expected to play until around 11pm.

In Cardiff it was a near two hour show packed with tracks from Paolo’s new album Last Night in the Bittersweet, his first in eight years, revisits of classics and some sing along favourites.

He opened the show at The Motorpoint arena in the Welsh capital with Afterneath, the opener from the new album, against a swirling psychedelic backdrop.before moving into Lose It.

From then it was was a set list spanning his 15 year career from Scream (Funk My Life Up) from his 2014 smash hit Caustic Love, through tracks like Better Man, Through the Echoes, the catchy Petrified in Love, and recent single Radio.

Backed by his brilliant six piece band, Paolo’s voice has never sounded better, and it looks like he is really enjoying performing with confidence, but also a deep appreciation for his fans.

His musical development over his time at the top means old songs get a new lease of life at his live gigs and so it was with a reworking of Jenny Don’t Be Hasty, mashed up with Undertones’ classic Teenage Kicks with a small nod to New Shoes thrown in, much to the crowd’s delight.

But fan favourite Candy, from the hugely successful Sunny Side Up album, was sung true to the original, with the 5000 strong crowd joining in with every word.

The encore brought a return to the psychedelia of the early part of the show with a remixed dance version of Let Me Down Easy, before he launched into the epic Iron Sky, which never felt more relevant than it does today with its cry for freedom and love over hate.

If you have tickets for his show next month you are going to witness one of the best gigs of the year. If not, then treat yourself to an early Christmas present if you can get your hands on a gold dust ticket. You won’t be disappointed.

Find out more about the gig on the M&S Bank Arena website here.