Tenderness was what we came away with after seeing Pip Millett at a sold-out Säälchen. The room was packed and far too hot, but she made being there feel lovely, talking us through her songs and welcoming us into the conversations between them. Her beautiful cover of “Try a Little Tenderness” fitted the evening perfectly. Somewhere along the way, we’d all ended up in her living room.
We were already fans. Her collaborations with Gotts Street Park had been our introduction, and we’d spent plenty of time with her music since. What we hadn’t experienced was how much fun she was to be around. She chatted, laughed and occasionally lost the thread of what she was saying. Some exchanges got a little chaotic, which only made it easier to feel comfortable with her.
Her voice was extraordinary in the room. There’s a depth and richness to it that we loved on record, and hearing how powerfully she could deliver those songs was a pleasure. She moved around a small patch of stage but seemed to fill the place, happily presiding over this gathering she’d brought together. Photographing her, we kept coming back to her face: how expressive it was, how closely she seemed to feel the words, occasionally looking a little choked up as she sang.
On guitar, Dan kept everything tight while handling backing tracks that added drums to his amazing riffs. Kristina Rhodes was equally good on bass, with impeccable timing and lines that were a joy to follow. It was a small setup, and the playing was so tasteful that we were quite happy listening to what each of them was doing.
Millett mentioned several times how quiet the audience was. She seemed almost surprised that a room full of people was listening so closely, including when she spoke between songs. Given the heat and how tightly we were all packed into Säälchen, it was remarkable how attentive everyone stayed. We wanted to hear her.
At one point, she asked for something beautiful and passed the microphone to an audience member, who offered being in love, bees and trees as reasons to be happy. For once, someone in Berlin had found happiness without mentioning a club. It was a sweet exchange, a little rambling, and she gave it time. By then, joining in felt quite natural.
The set covered plenty of ground, including what she introduced as the first song she’d ever written and the newly released “Mad”, a particular highlight for us. She closed with an unreleased song that sounded powerful and left us keen to hear it again.
We would happily have stayed longer, it’s a lovely thing to leave a concert feeling that fond of the person who’s just played it. There’s room for a little more tenderness.
If you get the chance to see Millett, go.
All images were taken by Pablo Iriarte with the permission of the artist and venue and are subject to copyright.
For usage rights, please contact photo@piriurdi.es .
