It wasn't even the music that did it, although that was as good as ever - accomplished and note-perfect as it was, bar the wonderful changes she'd made to certain tracks for live purposes. It was her attitude. Minutes before going on stage I'd asked her how she was was feeling and her answer was "Me? I'm crapping myself!" My god, you'd never have known it. Show this girl a synth and that shyness falls away. Tonight all I saw was hunger. "Let me at 'em!" was what came across, and it was contagious. The word "bubbly" doesn't even come close; Bekki injected a life into her set that was almost unreal. She had FUN, and that's what people lack these days.

Wearing trademark black (but not the usual floaty attire; oh no, this Bekki was clad in a clingy black top which highlighted her, shall we say "dual assets", along with black leggings and boots - yes, Bekki has legs!) she practically bounded onto the stage and grinned like a cheshire cat at the audience before plunging headlong into "A Breath Away", arguably her most emotive work in history. Follow this with some of her best known pieces and intersperse them with tracks from her forthcoming album that sound like they should be in movies, and you get the idea. She was good. No, she was great. No, she SHONE.

That smile never left, and what I found most endearing was when she'd finished her set. No slinking away to private parties for this girl; oh no, straight to the bar to mix with the people who buy the CDs. That was either very clever or very natural. I believe it to be the latter - countless people congratulated her and offered to buy her a drink and she refused them all, saying that it was more than enough that they'd turned up to see her play. Lovely. (For what it's worth folks, she drinks white wine spritzers after a performance. With soda, not lemonade!)

With "Edge of Human" just around the corner I can tell you that you can expect something entirely different. "Innersense" was always going to be a difficult act to follow, and she's wisely gone for the "do something completely different" route. It works. She's what Shreeve and Pickford should have been doing for the past 5 years, but more importantly she's Bekki Williams and her own style doesn't just shine though, it BOMBS through. Full marks, Miss Derbyshire.

Steve Maddison
Sonic Sense Magazine

The music was fabulous. Some tracks were already familiar to us (Azmara, Amber Dawn) whilst others were completely new. Every piece was "Bekki" in the extreme. Melodic, cleverly structured, memorable, full of emotion and played beautifully. Some of her new work would not be out of place on a Hollywood Blockbuster and I still believe (as I have always believed) that one day she will make her mark in the world of film scores and have the opportunity to sip tea with the likes of John Williams and Philip Glass. I fervently hope that this happens for her. If it doesn't, then there's something very wrong with the music industry.

Just as we in the audience were being lulled into a false sense of security by all this orchestral loveliness, a thunderclap ripped through the air and suddenly we were transported to the land of trance for three and a half minutes as a blistering version of the Tomb Raider theme assailed our ear drums. Now I must say that I hate trance and that I hate Tomb Raider even more. But I liked this a lot. A powerhouse of a track. By complete contrast, the piece she played as an encore was a piano solo that turned the skin on my arms to gooseflesh. Michael "The Piano" Nyman has nothing on this girl.

In summary, tonight showcased an excellent performance from the indisputable "Queen of Melody". Bekki is back, and boy how we've missed her. I'm not alone in my opinions; it's been a long, long time since I saw so many people approaching an artist after a performance to congratulate them in person. The man next to me seemed shell-shocked, muttering "stunning" over and over again as he walked out of the auditorium. I would have to agree.

I tried to take a photograph to accompany this review but Bekki effortlessly evaded my camera every time. A shame, as she looked great and the setting for this performance was so impressive - the light and video show really lent itself to her style of music. If anybody managed to snap her please feel free to send me your pics for use in future articles.

Carl Mathers
Sonic Sense Magazine