Gig Review: Kiefer Sutherland at the Engine Rooms

Many people know Kiefer Sutherland from the hit show 24 or the award-winning Designated Survivor. Many even know him from the cult film Flatliners. But not many people I had spoken to knew of him as a musician. In fact, it has mainly been the Chris Moyles Show endorsement that has created such high levels of awareness that has allowed the actor come singer to book his second UK tour this year.

Not a big country fan, I was surprised at how good his voice sounded on the album, Reckless & Me. However, I couldn’t get it out of my mind that with a good financial backing it’s not too hard to make someone sound better than they are. As such, it was with much trepidation that I went to Southampton’s popular Engine Rooms for the start of the tour.

As soon as I entered the venue, the warmth was noticeable, and I became more concerned with fainting audience members! Joining the tour was Twinnie, otherwise known as Twinnie-Lee Moore, the actress who had played Porche McQueen on Hollyoaks. Singing an array of her own songs, with an occasional cover, the stunning singer had a strikingly powerful voice.

A very entertaining warmup act, Twinnie was a perfect start to the show. With a full venue, it was time to see if Kiefer would be the second actor come singer to impress that evening.

With an attractive but modest stage setup, the show started with a bang, as Kiefer and his band burst onto the stage, straight into an energetic and rocky number. Quickly followed by tracks such as Something You Love, it was clear that Kiefer’s new music career was preceded by years of musical passion. Without the makeup and lighting of the big screen, Kiefer looked wizened but alive. His natural patter had him telling stories between songs, which alone were worth the trip.

It was fair to say that the performance equalled, if not excelled the studio recordings and were very well received by a friendly audience. I left the show pleased to have been wrong to worry about the live performance, and would recommend people to catch the tour, even if country music is not their bag. As a final note, earlier this year Kiefer had famously dropped into charity Naomi House & Jacksplace to play to the residents. It was nice to see a number of staff coming to support the show in return.