“Got me something to believe in, but all I really want now is a handful of salvation” she growled through Delicious Surprise.
It was during the 1990’s when I fell head over heels for a voice so full of angst, love, hate, hope and despair all in one song and the lyric has stuck with me still today. I knew she had not toured the US in ten years and there was no guarantee she would do it again after this so when I heard she was performing only five hours away there was no doubt that I would be packing the car, picking up a friend and embarking on a road trip. An artist who clearly knows the road between simply entertaining and completely embodying the music and lyrics she brings to the table, Beth Hart has the ability to bring you along for the ride through vulnerability, pain, recovery and release and leave you wanting to do it again and again.
The diversity of Hart’s latest album, Bang Bang Boom Boom, is not only reflected in the jazzy, rock swinging blues of the music, but is worn by Hart herself. Having been drawn to the raw, ready-to-combust-before-your-very-eyes woman from the 1990’s, I found myself standing at the edge of the stage equally drawn to the sleeker, refined, artist that is Beth Hart today. The difference being that she is clearly in control of that combustible spark that still sits just below the surface. You no longer wait to see the explosive chaos spill from the stage as it has become a beautiful, choreographed show of pyrotechnics. This is no more evident than while watching her performance of I’d Rather Go Blind with the incomparable Jeff Beck at the Kennedy Center Honors in Decemeber 2012. Not only does she graciously give us honesty in her vocal, she lays her soul bear with every song. It is not every day you find a performer who is not only willing to display such vulnerability, but does it so effortlessly and with such generosity that you keep it with you as a special gift shared between you and Beth in a room packed full of people.
The set list for this tour is just the right amount of past and present. From the stand out version of Something’s Got A Hold On Me born from Etta James to Caught Out In The Rain. Through a soul storming Leave The Light On and all the way around to Bang Bang Boom Boom you know by the end of the night that by no means is this the end of the journey. Even after the last note is sung, it is clearly evident that Beth Hart is just beginning.
Having ended a ten year hiatus from touring in the US, Hart has “sold out” every show from Stubb’s in Austin, TX to the City Winery in New York City on a trek that will have her stateside through May 2013. In June, it is back to Norway for a second European leg that runs through March 2014. I can only hope this will be the first of many return performances for a woman who has traveled a lifetime in just a few short years.
