As part of a 6-date Extra Hot tour, Piri is showing just how far she has come in the last 12 months, touring pretty much non stop, travelling the world and growing in confidence all the time.
With a minimal stage set to work with, Piri and her 2 dancers (Ines Galnares and Millie Gallimore) manage to fill Project House with incredible energy. They arrive on stage, behind a black curtain, before Piri peeks over the top in a beam of white spotlight, perfectly timed with the beats.
It’s a tantalising glimpse of what’s to come over the next hour. Bursting out from behind the curtain, Piri and her dancers kick-start a full-on 60 minutes, filled with 20 songs ranging from her own back catalogue, collaborations with Tommy Villiers and a wicked UKG mashup right in the middle of the set. This really fired up the crowd, with covers of Pink Pantheress’ Pain, Jorja Smith’s On My Mind, and an absolute classic in Gypsy Woman – Crystal Waters’ 1991 banger.
Although the backing tracks were pretty prominent, there was still plenty of room for Piri’s vocal to shine through, and the sound in Project House was excellent, delivering a properly energetic vibe. You can hear the influences from the likes of Pink Pantheress all over the music, and it’s simultaneously high energy and laid back, a juxtaposition which leads to a beautiful atmosphere among the crowd.
There are highlights in the production, from the stylish choreography, a crowd participation dance to the Macarena, and for beachin‘, sun loungers and a giant beach ball complete a Mediterranean feel.
For the latter track, Piri is joined by producer Tommy Villiers, who beefs up the sound further on guitar, and sticks around for nice little acoustic interlude, featuring a cover of Arctic Monkeys’ When the Sun Goes Down. Predictably, in front of a Yorkshire audience (albeit West not South), there’s a chant of “Yorkshire, Yorkshire!”, and a huge appreciation for a smartly arranged cover of that classic track.
Finishing the night on a high, with On and On, the crowd is still bouncing and wishing there was more. People are on each others shoulders and as Piri leaves the stage, along with Villiers who made another appearance to close out the show, the giant beach ball is thrown back into the melée and the party does indeed go on and on and on and on.
