Review by Paul Monkhouse for MPM
Few can light up a room the way Beth Hart does. From the moment she walks onstage, her magnetic presence fills every inch of the famous space that is the Apollo and though many have trodden these boards before, seldom do they have the megawatt charisma of the Los Angeles born singer.
Whilst she’s been a regular visitor to these shores, here’s something different about Hart this time though. Previous tours have seen her vulnerable, raw and painful emotions plainly on the surface displaying a blistering honesty about the struggles she’s had.
Certainly, the tenderness and issues she has to deal with each and every day are still very much there but, more than ever her inner light and strength shines and the impression is of someone in a much better place. Still exuding a barely contained sensuality, there is much more of a smile here and it’s a pleasing thing to see.
Before the main event, gracing the stage for the first but surely not the last time, Wille and The Bandits make a huge impression on the assembled throng. Stripped back from their usual four piece collective, lead man Wille Edwards is joined by Harry Mackall in this pared down acoustic setting and with their rough-edged Delta Blues influenced roots rock what should have been a gently rolling ramble is given a gutsy roar.
Blending guitars played like a lap steel and acoustic accompaniment, the duo brings the ambience of a dark, downtown bar in the Deep South to the London venue and numbers like the thumping ‘Got to Do Better’ and the sparse yet heartfelt passion of ‘When the World Stood Still’ leave a big impression.
Whilst these were good, it’s the powerful ‘Four Million Days’ that gets the greatest response, Edwards’ vocals going from a whisper to a scream with incendiary results and with talent like this it won’t be long before the band have their name on the neon lit marquee at the front of this self-same venue.
The last time Beth Hart was at the Apollo she made her grand entrance from the rear of the stalls, casually strolling the auditorium as she sang the first number.
This time though she made her way onto the stage with the rest of the band as they broke into the sultry and smokey torch song ‘If I Tell You I Love You’, the slowly winding start much more suited to this more restrained start. For those with any scintilla of worry that Hart had mellowed, a big and ballsy ‘Sugar in My Bowl’ followed, the singer prowling the stage like a panther and the rocking ‘Face Forward’ saw the band kicking up a serious amount of dust.
Never afraid to reach out and have some personal interaction with the audience, the bluesy cover of Blood, Sweat & Tears ‘I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know’ saw Hart walking through the stalls, stopping to sing face to face with a lucky few as people attempted to take quick selfies as those on the balcony craned their necks to see the action just below them.
Obviously having a good time, there was plenty of light and shade present in the set too as the rendering of ‘Little Heartbreak Girl’ had the shimmer of the classic and classy 70’s style pop that Carly Simon made her own before the vaudevillian romp of the darkly humorous revenge song ‘Never Underestimate a Girl’ added some pretty poison to proceedings.
Where the evening hit the hardest was when things slowed down and Hart’s already extraordinary vocals shine brightest of all, her ability to capture emotions something that very few other artists can come anywhere near to.
At its peak, the jaw dropping ‘Skin’ is enough to hold the audience absolutely spellbound and holding their breath until the very last note, while the sensual ‘Drunk on Valentine’ exudes the warmth and colours of a perfect Summer’s day.
The best though, was yet to come and following the riotous call and response of a rambunctious ‘Trouble’, Hart sat alone behind the piano and the heartbreaking and stunning ‘I Need a Hero’ left barely a dry eye in the house.
Once again, everything else in the world melted away for those five minutes as she bared her soul in the most visceral manner, beauty mixing with pain in such an exquisite way.
This could have been the climax of the show but wanting to leave those assembled feeling good as they walked into the cool February air, a joyous cover of John Denver’s ‘Country Roads’ lifted the atmosphere and the semi-acoustic bounce of ‘Wanna Be Big Bad Johnny Cash’ brought some Country grit.
With a celebratory ‘Wonderful World’ and the elegant sweep of ‘Hold Me Through the Night’ closing the main set, it was just down to full-blooded takes on Led Zeppelin’s ‘Good Times Bad Times’ and the mighty ‘Kashmir’ to draw the night to a close, Hart’s entreaty to the audience not to ‘throw shit’ at her if they disapproved of her taking on two such sacred cows of this country’s musical history totally unnecessary as they lapped it all up.
A truly phenomenal evening which saw the healing and cathartic power of music at its most primal and direct best. Possessing one of the best voices on the planet and the ability to communicate that’s second to none, Beth Hart certainly has a lot to smile about. Truly phenomenal.
Photography by Jon Theobald for MPM
