Bringing gig reviews back, one show at a time. And calling out the fact that Beth Orton, on a cold Sunday in Wellington, has a ruined voice, but it’s still somewhat glorious in a whole new way.
Saw her first ever Tasmanian show here in Hobart last Friday night and while the ethereal beauty of her voice might be somewhat diminished and she had to polyfilla over the cracks early on, the further the show went the better it got. She may well have been feeding off the love and understanding of the audience who hadn’t come expecting her to sound exactly like she did 25 years ago. What surprised me was how much better the Weather Alive songs sounded live. I have difficulty discerning the lyrics on the record but much less so live; so her voice can’t be too bad! Over all I agree with most of what was in the above review and the play on ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ lyrics was worth the price of admission alone. Chapeau!
Just was at the Melbourne show on 23 May - you are spot on, quite a shock, Beth Orton’s voice is a shadow of what it was. However when the band hit its grove the voice in the background was of little consequence and the composition and the playing carried the night.
Yes brave to push on and perform, as does Bob Dylan. Relying on the lyrics, music and band not a bad thing.
Saw her first ever Tasmanian show here in Hobart last Friday night and while the ethereal beauty of her voice might be somewhat diminished and she had to polyfilla over the cracks early on, the further the show went the better it got. She may well have been feeding off the love and understanding of the audience who hadn’t come expecting her to sound exactly like she did 25 years ago. What surprised me was how much better the Weather Alive songs sounded live. I have difficulty discerning the lyrics on the record but much less so live; so her voice can’t be too bad! Over all I agree with most of what was in the above review and the play on ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ lyrics was worth the price of admission alone. Chapeau!
Just was at the Melbourne show on 23 May - you are spot on, quite a shock, Beth Orton’s voice is a shadow of what it was. However when the band hit its grove the voice in the background was of little consequence and the composition and the playing carried the night.
Yes brave to push on and perform, as does Bob Dylan. Relying on the lyrics, music and band not a bad thing.