There was something different about seeing Miranda Lambert live for a third time, albeit in a positive way. It could be that the first two performance were seen from the floor, while this one was way up in the top tier of an arena looking down on the stage. Additionally the artist herself is a little more seasoned in playing overseas shows, although the one year gap between the first two UK visits was enhanced to five for the third. However it might just be the adjustment of knowing what to expect and viewing things from a different perspective.
For the record (no pun intended re; the back catalogue), this was her second visit to the Country to Country Festival alongside being afforded a repeat of headlining the Friday night for the London leg. Since her last visit to our shores for a run of own gigs in 2017, there has been a new album, the rather liberating WILDCARD following up its intense predecessor, and literally days before landing here again the release date of 2022's PALOMINO had been announced.This will be her eighth solo record since breaking through in 2006. The breadth of Miranda Lambert albums played an important part in this latest show as she managed to draw from each one in parading a 22 song setlist in front of a packed - if not entirely sold out - O2 Arena.
The first observation was the smoothness of the set with so much being packed into a timeframe running just five minutes under the hour and half mark. Obviously an artist of her calibre with a crack band in tow can effortlessly shift through the gears. Chat was optimal rather than minimal with an eye very much on giving her fans what they ultimately want - a shed full of songs on a rare visit. The pace of the action undulated in line with what is delivered on her records, namely an acute mix of upbeat anthems and deeper country cuts to align with a cross section of an industry increasingly splintered between commercial and convention.
With such an extensive song catalogue, you could almost filter a series of set lists for different moods and contexts. What I felt went right in this show was that it absolutely reflected who Miranda Lambert is as a performer. Arena shows demand some high octane moments that songs like 'Kerosene', 'Gunpowder and Lead' and 'Mamas Broken Heart' deliver. Alternatively in the calmer moments, ballads like the old classic 'The House That Built Me' and evolving classic 'Dark Bars' hold an audience in their lyrical grip.
The latter was one of the newer songs brought to a UK audience for the first time, joining on the evening with numbers like 'Tequila Does' that went down a storm and 'Bluebird' - the signature sound from the last album. With one eye on the future we were treated to 'If I was a Cowboy' - the first single off the upcoming album - and the unreleased 'Actin' Up', which was introduced without the title but deduced post-show from a couple of sources.
The two real treats for me were the live debuts of 'Famous in a Small Town' - the song that first introduced me to Miranda Lambert many years ago (I had to backtrack to KEROSENE!) - and 'That's the Way the World Goes Round' to UK audiences. Her version of this John Prine classic is a raucous live event and it is fitting for it to appear in light of losing the great man at the start of the pandemic.
Other notable moments during the set were tossing in the excellent 'Only Prettier' and finding the ultimate finale number in 'Drunk'. This collaboration with Elle King gets a Gwen Sebastian twist on stage (Miranda's long term backing singer and a very good artist in her right) and ensured a memorable set ended on a fiery, fun and fabulous note. An additional summation from sitting high up in the bleachers, although 90 degrees to the stage, was the zone of contentment she appeared to be in. Most pertinently witnessed during 'Little Red Wagon' in the penultimate song slot.
No Miranda Lambert show is complete without her top band, and no review can be filed without a nod to English pedal steel player Spencer Cullum. His prime talent obviously comes to the fore on the slower numbers, and it was absolute bliss hearing some twang after sitting through an undercard that appeared to forget what country music was about.
While the joy of seeing Miranda Lambert for the first time in 2016 can never be repeated, and the shock of her playing my nearest big city in Birmingham twelve month later, it has to be said that London 2022 was unequivocally the best yet. Logistics suggest that live performances of an artist who continually hooks me line and sinker will always be a premium, and that acquaintance by record will have to suffice. That is why those rare shows need to be special. Any investment on Friday 11th March 2022 was handsomely repaid . Miranda Lambert had one job and executed it perfectly.
