Beth Hart: Live At Warwick Arts Centre Gig Review

Saturday night had plenty to live up to. I spent most of the day in the quaint, green market town of Warwick. Famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare, its cobbled streets, bustling main square, Tudor tea shops, and magnificent castle, mark it as a must-visit if you ever find yourself near the rural heart of England. 

However, the main purpose of my two-hour trip to Warwick wasn’t about history. It was to bear witness to blues-rock powerhouse Beth Hart — one of the genre’s and her generation’s most astounding voices.

It was the first time for both me and my wife visiting Warwick Arts Centre. A rich swathe of colour and creativity, it’s a dream for anyone with the slightest love for arts, culture, and most importantly, bloody brilliant music. 

Opening act Willie and the Bandits had unfortunately half of its band, leaving them with just two members for this tour, but they still pulled off an excellent acoustic set, which was well received by the attentive audience. Willie Edward’s ability to shred the lap steel guitar on “Four Million Days” was particularly impressive, with the endearing camaraderie and vocal harmonies between himself and Harry Mackaill adding rays to their refreshing can of roots-rock. Ending their half hour set by selling their soul to the devil on “Crossroad Blues”, it’s a lovely tribute to the man, the myth, the legend of the Delta Blues — Robert Johnson. 

Edwards did warn us several times we were ‘in for a treat’ and you feel something special is brewing as the interval draws to the close (I’m not referring to the coffee machine at the bar working overtime). 

The lights go down as Hart and her long-time backing band stride out to warm applause and white-hot expectation. Opening with “Pimp Like That” from her enthralling and most recent LP You Still Got Me, Hart keeps it wondrously dark ‘on the river’, with flat-capped drummer Bill Ransom crashing in and out like clockwork. Hart ends the vocal sultriness with a cheeky laugh, before haunting us with the atmospheric, heavy intensity of “Machine Gun Vibrato” — one of my favourite songs off her new record and a sound very much off the beaten track when compared to the rest of the LA resident’s back catalogue.

The energy is unrelenting, with Hart scratching an itch for some of that ‘male attitude’ on the hard-hitting, spite of “Face Forward.“ Bordering on restlessness, she prowls the stage in her tight black leggings, flipping from piano to stool and even laying on back and belting out to the sky, before darting out into the crowd during her cover of Melody Garlot’s “Your Heart Is As Black As Night”. As soft as silk, yet as unforgiving as the sea, her voice would give Dracula goosebumps.

Hart’s as real as it gets, even taking a pew on the lap of a very surprised yet pleased as punch gentleman directly in front of me to finish off this sultry number. It’s the closest I’ll probably ever get to Beth – if I’d put my hand out, she could have given me a high-five, but the thought of being left hanging was beyond terrifying.

Around halfway through her set, the songstress gets visibly emotional at some flowers laid out on her piano, given to her by an old friend at the concert who she’s not seen for years. Hart goes solo for a short period, reminiscing about the time she had “The Ugliest House On The Block.” Think cracks in the walls, cobwebs blocking the chimney, and creeky floorboards. Hart likens the fallibilities to the well-documented chaotic path she’s had to endure on this journey we call life, but there’s nothing awry with her frenetic guitar work.

Thankfully, she’s now very much at the top of her game (both as a songwriter and performer), helped enormously by her husband Scott, who Hart dedicates “Drunk On Valentine” too. While it’s missing the gorgeous horns and superb musical arrangement of the album version, Hart’s gratitude, magical vocals, and emotive piano playing more than make up for it.

I notice a miniature drum being set up near the front of the stage as the song bubbles up to a finale. The rest of the band return, now all lined up in perfect tandem, as Hart begs anyone in the audience to deliver her some nicotine gum. A ‘gorgeous lady’ duly obliges, before the multi-talented Tom Lilly gets on the double bass and Ransom becomes even more of a giant of a man, showing superb subtlety with his drum brushing on the band’s rendition of “Lullaby Of The Leaves”.

Hart asks the crowd if they want to hear something ‘a bit happier’, and we’re certainly to be ready to be rocked to the core. Cheeky and playful jazzy little number “Swing It Back Around” breaks the melancholy, while being a great showcase of Beth’s versatility. She’s then back battling the demons on “War In My Mind”, digging deep for one of her finest composition’s that’s soul ripping and intensely moving in equal measures.

The encore is no less captivating. The sweet riff and naughty side of Hart comes out on “Suga N My Bowl”, while “Saviour With A Razor” sees Jon Nichol’s guitar howl and scream alongside the trademark soulful phrasing and incredible rasp. 

With Warwick within spitting distance of Birmingham (the birthplace of Led Zeppelin), Hart courageously ends the night with a cover of “Good Times Bad Times”. The musicianship is top-class and once again, I’m in awe of this woman’s raucous power, feral roars, and perfectly controlled edge (as I’m sure many of the crowd are given the rapturous ovation her and the rest of the cast receive).

Hart is a born entertainer, with an uncanny ability to be beautifully arrogant and confident, yet possesses a deep vulnerability that contradicts her cock-sureness. In just under two hours, her timeless voice has started a war in my own mind, catapulting me from sorrow to strength, and transporting me from deep, dark places to a sanctuary of joy and jubilation. You can’t take your eyes off her, and at 53 years young, she’s only getting better. What an ominous prospect, and what a night!

Photo Credit: Jon Theobald.