Teitur at the Purcell Room,Friday 26th March

Thank the Lord for Twitter.If it hadn't been for Twitter,I'd (probably) never have found out about Teitur's show at the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre last night.Having seen him in Esbjerg,Denmark (a 3 and a half hour train trip from where I lived in Germany) just over a year ago,and neglecting to write about it,I couldn't pass up the chance to go and see him again at a venue I'm familiar with,half an hour away from where I live now.

This show was quite different to the one at Tobakken in Esbjerg.There,Teitur was accompanied by a band,whereas this time,he was all alone with his piano and guitar,apart from in a select few songs where he was joined by a string quartet).The first song was All My Mistakes from the second album Stay Under the Stars,which set the mood for the rest of the evening- lovely and chilled out.

The next few songs were from the forthcoming (as yet untitled) album,which will be released around September.Thanks to Twitter again,I already knew the lyrics to When I Had It All,and a few weeks ago on Sounds of Europe,I said I hoped he'd "cobble a tune together in time for the show".It was of course,much more than cobbled together,it was wonderful,though how it will sound on the CD is another matter.If this album is anything like The Singer,and there are lots of different instruments and sounds going on,it will sound completely different to the simple but effective piano-only version.To be honest though,Teitur's music for me has always (mostly) been all about the lyrics."It's hard to let go of what you thought you wanted,it's harder to hold on to dreams that are haunted" is my particular favourite line in that song.

Fly on the Wall,Feel Good,Waverly Place and Freight Train are also songs from the new album,my favourite being Freight Train.Teitur said that it always reminds him of his father,and it's all about taking chances and making the most of life.On a personal level,and at this stage of my own life,the lyrics felt very poignant,and I got...slightly emotional :) The fact that Freight Train was followed by an encore of I Was Just Thinking made it all the more emotional.I'm a single person,and have been for longer than I care to remember,so the words don't have any personal resonance for me anymore.But still,it's a special song for me,partly because it's the first Teitur song I heard,nearly 7 years ago.

There were lots of other songs from The Singer,including of course the title track,which is one of my favourites,not least because of the line "they just want to understand me,and I sing to be loved" and the end note,which gets me every time.This version was probably quite close to the one he played in Esbjerg,but wasn't as dramatic as my favourite version,this one from Danish TV show,the 11th hour.

Don't Let Me Fall in Love With You,We Still Drink the Same Water and Catherine the Waitress are other highlights from The Singer,and though I enjoyed them,they're definitely better when all the other instruments are involved.And arguably in the case of Water,when Olafur Arnalds and Ane Brun are involved :)

Great Balls of Fire was played quite early on,which I like much more than the original version.Played at a slower tempo,in a minor key,with a string quartet changes the feel of the song altogether.It's eerie,almost sinister,which are not feelings that usually come up in your average song...The string quartet were great in every song they played,and in particular made Josephine an unexpected highlight of the show,as it's never been a favourite of mine.

What has always been a favourite of mine however,is Louis Louis,so I was very happy when Teitur played it :)

The final song of the night was One and Only.A nice,mellow end to a nice,mellow evening,even though I could have stayed listened to him all night.

Though this show didn't quite have the magic of the one in Esbjerg two Octobers ago,Teitur is (to quote his own song Legendary Afterparty) "still my hero,if I ever had one."