Review: Beth Hart, Colston Hall

Beth Hart’s return to Bristol saw her make a well deserved jump from the Academy to the Colston Hall. She played a marathon set but before we discuss what went down, let’s take a look back at the support.

Miles Graham is a self confessed “ordinary family man” who decided to give a musical career a try out – and seems to have turned what he described as a completely unplanned (almost) whimsical decision in to a growing career. He’s already been in session for Sir Terry of Wogan and his single I Can’t Love You Again was play listed on Radio Two. Live – with electric guitar supplementing his own acoustic playing – he showed off a tremendous vocal range from falsetto to croon. The set brought to mind John Martyn, no bad thing, but Martyn at his most soothing & balmy rather than the wayward mercurial Martyn. If Graham can tap in to something more adventurous with future recordings then he really has the talent to take his songs somewhere special. That said, his personality won over the audience to the extent that he left the stage to most of the crowd singing Maneater as a coda to his last tune. A double edged sword mind, as it probably meant the crowd had that song ricocheting round their heads rather than one of his own.

Beth Hart is touring in support of new recording Better Than Home, which featured heavily in the set, and she and her rather excellent band delivered a lengthy set that mixed up a wide range of influences. Hart has a truly excellent voice, although capable of rock n roll swagger and soul / blues shouting & crooning, what makes it both memorable & distinctive is her natural ability to bring a jazz vibe in to the mix.

The planned set list was discarded early on as Hart and co decided to play songs that either fitted to mood of the show or in response to the many requests shouted out from the crowd. Thus there was a great feeling of inclusion for the audience and the band seemed to really get a kick out of the changes, but it did result in perhaps a less diverse set as we had more piano-led mid tempo tunes than up tempo numbers. A small quibble but Hart can really kick it with the faster up tempo material, and is in her element strutting the stage.

That said, Mama This One’s for You had the crowd enthralled and Mechanical Heart has a really distinctive lyrical twist, both songs showing that Hart is capable of writing both moving and beguiling lyrics. Might As Well Smile gave good groove (but really missed the horns) and Trouble had people dancing and grinning like loons. A cover of Nutbush City Limits showed that even the most familiar of songs can be vamped up and a glance at the planned set list made one wish that I’d Rather Go Blind had been kept in the set.

A grand night out then, and a demonstration of one of the best singer / songwriters out there, let’s hope Hart will be returning soon, with a horn section and a killer set that leaves the crowd physically drained as well as emotionally sated.