Photos by Arnie Goodman
When Los Angeles native Beth Hart walked onto the Town Hall stage in New Yok City, she immediately forged an intimate connection with the audience, even before playing the first note of her eighteen song performance. By telling everyone how nervous she was, and also “a little scared,” concert goers anticipated experiencing a very special musical evening. From the reaction in the venue, Ms. Hart and her talented band mates more than exceeded expectations.
Canadian bred singer/songwriter Scott Shea opened the evening with an impressive solo acoustic set that commanded attention and included “Scattering Crows” and “It Ain’t Easy,” Shea’s tribute to the late David Bowie.
Beth Hart opened her two hour show with the Lloyd Glenn/Lowell Fulson penned “Sinners Prayer,” one of her collaborative works with Joe Bonamassa. With a catalog of songs spanning a twenty year career, she has a rich set of songs to choose from, so compiling just the right set list might have presented a steep challenge, but her selections were perfectly suited for her fans who packed the historic venue, many of whom had traveled some distance to see her. Among the highlights were the heartfelt “St. Teresa” and tear inducing “Take It Easy On Me,” songs that put her own life experiences on full display.
Jon Nichols and PJ Barth infused just the right amount of blues rock guitar licks, while Bob Marinelli’s bass & Bill Ransom on the drums and percussion filled out the full band orchestration and made for a unique live music experience that brought the crowd to their feet for most of the evening. Music aficionados would do well to add a Beth Hart performance to their musical experience.
– Howard B. Leibowitz
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