A last-minute ticket purchase led to an unforgettable evening
BY KLARA FERRAIOLI-SCHUBERT, IMAGES BY KLARA FERRAIOLI-SCHUBERT
It’s Tuesday morning and you feel compelled to check resale tickets for CMAT, having failed to secure tickets on first release. To your genuine surprise, there is one ticket available. You punch in your card details without a second thought and that’s that. Nine hours later, you’re driving up to Cambridge, buzzing and slightly whiplashed with excitement.
The Irish singer-songwriter and pop icon has really made her mark this year. CMAT released her third album Euro-Country in October and completely sold-out her UK and Ireland tour. Unfortunately, the tour was postponed due to emergency wisdom teeth removal.
On 18 November, CMAT performed at Cambridge Corn Exchange and let’s just say, that woman really knows how to get a crowd going on a Tuesday night. Having also somehow managed to secure a front row spot, I felt my heart leap seeing The Very Sexy CMAT Band strut on stage and open with the dramatic intro of Janis Joplin.
CMAT kept us on our toes from the offset. While the crowd faced the stage waiting for her to somehow materialise on stage, a spotlight guided us to the balcony where CMAT looked over us, posing in camp nonchalance. She performed the entirety of the song from the balcony, raising her sunglasses and giving the crowd a wink as she sang the line “I’ve been thinking about girls”.
The ninety minutes that followed were unforgettable. CMAT and her band have such an incredible stage presence. One minute she’s rolling around on the stage platform, the next the band are all line-dancing to the instrumental of I Don’t Really Care For You, the next she’s dancing up and down the stage, whipping her hair along to the music.
There was such an amazing sense of community within the crowd that even if you weren’t a die-hard CMAT fan, it would be difficult not to get swept away with the atmosphere. She really loves for her fans to become a part of the show, getting everyone to raise their hands and wave in the chorus of Have Fun!, joining in with the “woke macarena” in Take A Sexy Picture Of Me and getting the entire audience – even those seated in the balconies – to do the “Dunboyne two-step” along to I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!
Half-way through the show, CMAT announced a surprise addition to the night’s setlist and performed what she described as a “deep cut” from her first album: Peter Bogdoanovich. Ever the crowd-pleaser, when a fan shouted out a request for Coronation St., she quickly replied “no” before slowly turning back to the crowd with a mischievous grin on her face.
“Cambridge, you are setting a dangerous precedent for this tour,” she laughed. After a few minutes of whispering between the band, where we were encouraged to “talk amongst ourselves”, they had rallied themselves and gave a beautiful performance of one of CMAT’s most moving songs.
The show came to an all-too-soon close with Stay For Something, where CMAT leapt over the barrier and danced among the crowd. Aside from her genuinely breath-taking vocals, CMAT’s energy and personality are truly what brings her music to life.
After such a long road, CMAT deserves every bit of recognition and more.
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