Beth Hart Shows Heart At The Barbican
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LA singer-songwriter Beth Hart’s recent worldwide touring of 2015’s 'Better Than Home' was as impressive as it was self-prophesying.
Hart is something of blues royalty having previously worked with Buddy Guy, Joe Bonamassa, and, somewhat bizarrely, Slash. Her career is now stretching into its twenty-second year, and with London’s obscurely beautiful Barbican theatre a quick sell out for her headline show, Hart’s UK fan-base is seemingly as strong as it ever has been.
It was by herself sat at the ivories that Hart opened her show, barefoot whilst playing a softly rousing version of "Mama This One’s For You", before she was joined by the motley crew of ‘cool dads’ that make up her backing band. They might have looked like they’d been dragged through a Blue Harbour, but they sounded like they’d been regulars at LA’s Babe’s and Rickey’s Inn for the last two decades.
And with music not heard through the eyes, their-never-miss-a-note tightness was an immaculate foundation for Hart to stand upon during the two hour set.
Her vocals are something that have earned her a Grammy nomination in the past, and it’s not hard to understand why. Across tracks that ranged from blues to funk to country, her outstandingly soulful tones were rife on ‘Get Your Shit’ and ‘Take It Easy On Me’.
Hart, like many other American songwriters before her, has bluntness in conveying a clichéd message throughout most of her tracks. This creates a matter-of-fact approach to her story telling; it’s more DIY manual than poetry. "My California", a homage to her band managing husband, starts with “Calling California is anybody home / Hello California won’t you pick up the phone?”, and "Might As Well Smile" possesses the Shakespearean nugget: “I go to the corner and I buy me a drink / I say to the man “This shit helps me think””. It could literally have been written by a seven year old.
But such gripes weren’t shared with the wider audience, who were absolutely enthralled with Hart’s two-hour set. And this isn’t to say I wasn’t either, as her vocal prowess vastly overshadows the occasional hollowness to her song content.
Hart is back in London at the end of the year to play a solo show at Islington’s Union Chapel, something which is to provide a fascinating shift in dynamics to her Barbican show with four band members.
For more information on Beth Hart, including future tour datesclick here. Words by Luke Forshaw Images taken by Helen Bradley Owers Video by
MysterOahu
