Paolo Nutini at Electric Picnic 2023: Entertaining – but probably not what his long-time fans were hoping for

Paolo Nutini

Main stage

★★☆☆☆

Friday’s showers evaporated over Electric Picnic at Stradbally on Saturday bringing drier ground in the main arena for Paolo Nutini’s headliner set that night.

The Scotsman drew in the crowds for a nicely packed, but not rammed, appearance after being drafted in to replace Lewis Capaldi.

Scream, complete with live saxophone, brought in any stragglers at the edge of the arena with “funk my life up” echoing from front row to Ferris wheel.

The crowd size was hardly a surprise given his recent run of shows across the country and the No 1 chart position for his latest album, 2022′s Last Night in the Bittersweet.

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“It must be done,” he tells the crowd sipping from a pint glass of stout and a few gracious “thank yous” and “we love yous” followed for the support he’s received on these shores.

Opening the early part of the set with just one of his more well-known tracks could be seen as a risk by some on a slot like this, but Stradbally’s patrons were still listening, for the most part, as he grabbed an acoustic guitar for Through the Echoes.

New Shoes strutted out to get the crowd’s feet moving before a disjointed reboot of Pencil Full of Lead. The lively brass section of the studio version, probably what most people came to hear, was regrettably absent, substituted with guitar power chords and an unexpected, but enjoyable, rendition of Dayman from Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Much of the carefree energy created so far, and a bit of the audience’s attention, moved off for the slower Take Me Take Mine. Candy was clearly a crowd favourite, but the song’s arrangement built up to a smaller than expected finish.

“This means the f**king world to us,” Nutini told the crowd in one of the few sparse interactions.

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Iron Sky became the clear highlight of the set. The power of Nutini’s vocals is almost impossible to deny, particularly when they’re backed up by thousands in chorus over Charlie Chaplin’s ever-poignant words from The Great Dictator.

The skill of all performers on stage was evident through impressive guitar solos and keyboard playing, but overall some attendees were likely left disappointed at the lack of any major climax in the performance.

Hits like Jenny Don’t Be Hasty, Last Request and Coming Up Easy were notably absent.

He ended on the radio friendly and dancey Shine a Light, a set with so much potential that felt only partially realised. Not a total let down and still entertaining but probably not what his longtime fans were hoping for.