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Cool. Seductive. Sassy. Vibrant. Classy. Powerful but above all Magnificent, Beth Hart saunters through the crowd of The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester to ignite the city on a wet and windy night and, in so doing, further underlines – and in bold – just why it is she is so revered.
Before Hart made her delightful entrance, however, the audience had already been warmed nicely by Vancouver bluesman Colin James. In the company of Chris Cadell, James, launched into an accomplished 30 minute set that toured through songs from his eighteen – YES, 18 – albums and still found time to pay homage to Robert Johnson and Sam Cooke. Freedom and Keep On Lovin’ Me, Baby are a joy, with their fabulous riffs and delicate lyrics energising the settling crowd. Although his first U.K. outing since supporting Robert Plant back in 1991, it’d would be brilliant if it wasn’t quite so long before he returns.
But if Colin James provides the aperitif, Beth Hart supplies the Eat As Much As You Can Musical Buffet.
Dressed in a knee high, green dress, cinched at the waist with a thin, black belt, Beth Hart oozes catharcism. Hugging and shaking hands with the assembled whilst sumptuously delivering Melody Gardot’s Your Heart is Black as Night, Hart sashays to the stage in imperious command of her talent, delivering a scintillating beginning to what was set to be a breathtaking evening.
Next on the list, having implored everyone to stand and “dance with me”, a glorious version of
Rhymes from her collaboration album with Joe Bonamassa, Seesaw. If either Al Green or Etta James could have banged this out any better, then their performance will have been something to see because here, Beth Hart really rattles the shackles loose and lets fly.
What truly strikes even at this early stage is just how comfortable the Californian is, how much at home she feels in front of an audience. Bang Bang, Boom Boom is just as much fun as its title suggests, whereas Swing My Thing Back Around from the same album exemplifies what a marvellous ear Beth Hart owns when it comes to lyrical directness.
Not for her the sitting on a fence popishness. This is stuff directed unerringly at the heart and never once does her aim falter. The first number from her latest album, Fire on the Floor, sees Beth Hart settle behind the piano to deliver a heart wrenching, pulse raising Good Day to Cry, which has everyone spell bound by the vocal dexterity, total passion and heartfelt energy that’s meted out. This is a showstopper of a song, a pause of harrowing breath, a tear jerker if ever there was one. Packed with emotion, by any other standards this would seal the deal on any night. Yet such is Hart’s extraordinary prowess, A Good Day to Cry almost pales.
Almost … but not quite. After all, this is something of a loosener for what is to follow.
The anecdotes and themes behind several songs are funny and thought provoking in turns. Picture In A Frame, she says, came from musing how it would be should her husband, Scotty – who she apparently didn’t like at first but who, she admits now, undoubtedly saved her life along with her career – be no longer around. A rich, ripe plump ballad infused with just enough sentiment to avoid being in anyway schmaltzy, in the live setting it simply roars emotion.
The same can also be said, but for very different reasons, of arguably the first of two truly stand out songs of the evening, Sister Heroine.
Dedicated to Hart’s late sister, this sets the hairs on the arms and at the nape of the neck on end. The evocative lyrics, deep meanings, tenderness and full blast longing sets this out as a masterclass in how to eek out every possible emotional response imaginable to in a single song.
Switching and changing mood almost on a whim, I’ll Take Care of You from another Bonamassa collaboration album, Don’t Explain, originally recorded by Bobby Bland, sees Hart not only pick up an acoustic, but also brings front and centre the superb work of guitarist Jon Nicholls. If there is an award for an outdoing the original solo, then Nicholls might just win it hands down with a break filled to the brim with expressiveness par excellence.
At this point, mention should also be made of the sumptuous rhythms supplied by Bob Marinelli on bass and Bill Ransom on drums, who’s tightness drive the machine along relentlessly.
Yet the true shining star on stage is Beth Hart herself. Interacting, cajoling, imploring and finally embracing her audience and their needs, this is an artiste at the very top of her game. Delicious Surprise from Screamin’ For My Supper is extraordinary, whereas Love Gangster from Fire on the Floor, is so steeped in irony it bleeds into the soul.
Along with Sister Heroine, it is Leave The Light On that lingers most on this night of nights. Flled with self-analysis, courage and understanding if ever a song has been delivered so passionately, so honestly, I for one would love to hear it.
A song born from fear, Hart drives a stake through those darknesses that haunt her and pins them down with her hopes. A remarkable powerhouse of a song that is remarkably and powerfully recreated, Light On highlights Hart’s basic instinct for survival and never shies away from her inherent honesty.
Following another soirée into the audience during Waterfalls, it is all too soon time to say farewell. Yet not before a quite earth shattering a cappella performance of As Long As I Have A Song, which not only closes the show on a fitting high, but also illustrates exactly what it is Beth Hart is all about.
It would be far too easy to say that Beth Hart owns a voice capable of shaking the foundations of the firmest of mountains. Although unquestionably true, hers is also a complete performance that is about so much more than her singing alone and ticks all the boxes in thick, black marker pen.
Cool. TICK. Seductive. TICK. Sassy. TICK. Vibrant. TICK. Thoughtful. TICK. Powerful. TICK. Classy. TICK. Unforgettable. TICK.
Beth Hart is all of these and more and on stage she is the consummate blues, jazz, rock, soul artist of her times.
Beth Hart
Manchester Bridgewater Hall
November 21, 2016
Special Guest: Colin James
PR RATING: ***** Quite Phenomenal