A testament to his songwriting ability, perhaps. A relatively short gig, but this works in his favour as there’s no filler. In all, Miller is on stage for 45 minutes.
Thankfully, the chorus isn’t as sickly as you’d think, but it will definitely get picked up onto most radio playlists for this summer – deservedly so. Claiming that if all goes well with the album and touring, this next song – Always – is going to be one of those we’ll get sick of hearing. His stage presence grows throughout and he cheekily engages with the crowd. A beautiful song capped off with an accapella middle-eight, the joy Tor gets from playing it infects the crowd, and from here he comes into his own. It’s easy to see why he chose this as his favourite. Still plinking on his piano’s keys, almost a crutch when onstage, Miller introduces his personal stand-out track on his forthcoming album, Baby Blue. He humbly tells us that this is only his second sell-out gig, after playing for eight years – mainly to bartenders in empty bars. Three songs into the set and it’s clear Miller’s early nerves have settled. Miller’s singing and piano playing is faultless, and Now And Again showcases everything that is brilliant about him: verses that paint a vivid image of New York City for the heartbroken, and choruses that are perfect for stirring from within that unspeakably longing emotion we’ve all felt at some point. He tinkles the keys and then bursts out with a rousing voice that leaps beyond anything you’d expect from listening to him on record.
There’s a nervous charm about him, but you can’t mistake his manner as nonchalance. When Miller comes to the stage, he does so in an equally innocuous fashion: sitting down at the piano, welcoming the crowd with a smile and a “hi”. Tucked away on a side street off Dalston’s Kingsland High Street, New York singer/songwriter Tor Miller romances an intimate crowd in the cosy Servant Jazz Quarters – a single black piano adorning the stage, a hushed crowd waiting patiently, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
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