Paulo Nutini is only 22 but a major star in the making. He has a unique and distinctive voice which is a cross between Rod Stewart and Joe Cocker only more powerful than either. Culture Room is a great live music venue and was filled to capacity with a loud and boisterous crowd for Nutini's show with a lot of British accents around.

Paulo was backed by a six piece band mostly from Scotland including trumpet and harmonica. The sound is difficult to categorize, a cross between Scottish Hootenany, jazz and rock band. The whole sound is anchored by Paulo's unmistakebale gravel tones. This guy can really belt it out and cannot be mistaken for anyone else. The crowd loved it [apart from his not playing Last Request!]. I particularly liked Jenny Don't be Hasty but Paulo's great on slow numbers and I thought These Streets was a standout.

The band played for about 1 hour 20 minutes including an encore. When Paulo engages more with the audience he will be big, so catch him now at smaller places before he's a really big star.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Uu43ALWS4