ESTELLE at The Hoxton (69 Bathurst), Monday, September 12. Rating: NNN
Estelle has the Toronto screwface down. Early in the British R&B singer’s short set at an invite-only TIFF party at Monday night, she made it immediately clear that she isn’t one to phone in a corporate gig.
With so many artists performing at anything they can to compensate for flagging record sales, two types are emerging: those that play to their own fans and those that must own an entire audience. Estelle fell in to the latter camp when, after a lively rendition of Wait A Minute (Just A Touch), she sauntered toward the bottle service area in her sparkly fringed flapper dress and black YSL heels and scrunched her brow accusingly at “these motherfuckers over here” (ie. the celeb-hounding media types summoned by Diet Coke to The Hoxton for an evening of exclusive hob-knobbing and free booze).
Eventually, she managed to coax the much of the crowd into putting down their low-cal mixed drinks through a combination of saucy swagger, reggae rhythms and uplifting harmonies. Best known for her 2008 top 10 hit American Boy, Estelle seems caught in major label limbo lately but continues to release underrated singles, like the lushly-produced R&B jam Break My Heart (featuring Rick Ross).
She hit the stage after midnight backed by a three-piece band and two smiley back-up singers and performed a 30-minute set that included that that song, sped-up floor-filler Freak, lilting, lover’s rock anthem, Come Over (minus Sean Paul) and a cover of Mary J. Blige’s essential R&B hit Real Love.
She moves effortlessly between reggae, rap, R&B and pop, but it’s Estelle’s commanding, no-nonsense attitude that seals the deal. Her voice sounded just as buttery smooth live as it is on record and she carries herself with sly, slightly intimidating confidence deserved of a much bigger stage.
