Photos and Review by LUIS MORENO
There’s a reason Beth Hart sings the blues.
The blues as a genre comes out of pain, love, and hopefulness. It comes from a dark space that is reverberated by strength, tenderness, and resiliency. Beth Hart’s voice is nothing less than all those characteristics.
Hart’s vocal declaration and music is not glassy, it’s textured with layers of serious struggles, landings, and victories. A life span that has led her music going double-platinum and topping the Billboard Blues charts six times. Even Miley Cyrus listed her amongst her favorite singers, saying Hart has “one of the best voices of all time.”
When Hart walked out on stage at the Saban, her fans showered her with an ovation of support and love. She returned the adoration with words of thankfulness, gratefulness, and a Led Zeppelin song “Levee.” Throughout the night she sang selections from her new album A Tribute To Led Zeppelin.
“This Zeppelin album allowed me to get all my rage out, and, for that, I’m really grateful,” she said. She’s not a solo act on stage. Hart was buoyed by Jon Nichols on guitar, Bill Ransom on drums, and Tom Lilly on bass.
Hart’s ability to own the stage is incredible. She’s an amazing energy of power and presence. But that doesn’t mean she’s not warm, raw, or inviting. Hart would reach out to her devotees with stories. She’d sit at the edge of the stage, which was kind of a physical metaphor of her private life. A life that has had her on the edge of mental health, physical compulsions, and defeats, mixed with mountains climbed in the arena of amour.
All of Hart’s layers are on full display with songs in the show including “Bad Woman Blues,” “Levee,” “Waterfalls,” “Black as Night,” “Woman Down,” and “Boogie Man.”
The great show lingered into the night from a full powered band. It would tether into sweet refined acoustic moments with Hart at the piano emoting one of her earliest songs “Leave the Light On.” It reflects times in her life when things were absolutely, rock bottom. But how can you go wrong with emotions and lyrics that lead to “I’m still afraid to be alone, I wish the moon would follow me home.”
An evening with Beth Hart is brutally and tenderly honest.
The evening started with a bright eyed and bushy tailed Quinn Sullivan. Quinn is a 22-year-old guitarist, singer/song writer starting to make ripples in the industry. He’s been on the Late Night show with Jimmy Fallon. He’s played Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl, and other great venues. Quinn just released a new album, Wide Awake. Wide Awake showcases his guitar virtuosity and potential.
His music was very much like his presence on stage…clean and young.
Quinn is obviously in the early stages of really getting some chops underneath himself. Quinn has real potential to be dynamic and mature. His stage presence and comfort will only get better with pain, heartache, and time.
The real glimpse of his guitar prominence could be heard in the last song of his set. He was able to let go and just be himself with an impressive guitar solo which was supported on stage by his mandolin player. The guitar solo showed promise like a first kiss from your first crush. He just left you hoping for more.
Check out Beth Hart on Soundcloud: