Kelis - Wilton’s Music Hall, London 08/04/14

Wilton Music Hall is quite a venue for a renaissance. The oldest music hall in London, it is usually host to wine tasting and world cinema. Not an urban artist who broke mainstream with “Caught Out There”, a song that included screaming of hate, profanities and a gun cock allusion to murder.

Stepping on to stage, the instantly recognisable “Feeling Good” begins: “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life, for me”. The messaging is hardly subliminal. This is old showtime glamour with big band brassy sounds, and Kelis is a glitterball centrepiece. She sparkles, in a sequinned top and trousers with fairy-light pinstripes, though she winks back to her former self with wrists weighted down by bling.

She promises some “old stuff” to a gleeful crowd, before bursting into “Millionaire” with her smoky sassiness. Behind her a stream of white lights and spotlight tripods echo classic Hollywood prestige. This is followed by “Friday Fish Fry”, with basted brass and simmering keys. The room bobs in unison.

At times her voice lacks the strength of her earlier recordings, the drums the only force to be reckoned with. She is now the new Kelis - leave your attitude at the door. During a rendition of “Cobbler”, a Mariah Carey-esque squeal exposed the limitations of her range. Though she was straight back to showcasing her gravelly tones on the next “Lil Star”, deep and dusky where she best excels.

“Forever Be” tiptoes into gipsy swing, not out of place under the marquee of a scrumpy soaked Somerset field. While “Runnin’” sees pretty trills and ad libs, and shows that even for the newest ballads, our hips sway. The set is monochrome. Vividly lit differently for each song, the first notes bring a new wash of colour and changes of scene from underground jazz cafe to Las Vegas thoroughfare.

Kelis flicks back momentarily to “it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day”’ (literally. drilling. this. in. your. head) before explaining her metamorphic style. “I have had more managers than I have boyfriends” who apparently told her she’d never build a fan base without being consistent. “But I am consistently inconsistent!” she retorts. With a visceral love for music, her changing style reflects her evolving tastes and maturity. Tonight’s performance included a performance of Labi Siffre’s 1971 “Bless the Telephone”.

The warmth and energy of our leading lady is captivating. Her quips have the crowd guffawing. She’s open, announcing she is “hot, and not cute hot, sweating profusely” and blames this rather than vanity for the well placed fan providing a dramatic hair lifting breeze. She talks - and listens - to the fans, inviting Danny who has seen her 12 times on stage to gyrate with her, and even querying the release date of an album with the dedicated at the front.

As the audience wooped, she opened up her music vault and pulled out a megamix of her classics, including “Get Along With You”, with soft cymbals replacing the angrier stuttering ghetto drums. Before breaking into “Good Stuff”, “Glow” and finally “Milkshake”, in a good testament to its original gutsy and coquettish counterpart.

Next up is “Jerk Ribs” - named as when they jammed and wrote the song, they were eating just that. Its bluesy bass guitar riff is already sounding like an old friend and it gets a cheer like a classic. Then the head spinning breakdown of “4th of July” is given a funky twist, with just a sample or two of the 90s synth thrown in for good measure.

A climatic finale sees Kelis go full circle and once again sing “and its feeling good”… And it does! Tonight’s Kelis is golden and glamorous. She calls this her “first actual real show”, and it was a showstopper.

• Photos by Wunmi Onibudo. See the full gallery here.