Presented by: Adelaide Festival Centre with Frontier Touring, Chugg Entertainment and Penny Drop
Reviewed: 27 September 2022
Leon Bridges is a consummate performer who knows just what his audience wants and just how to give it to them. In a set that lasted a little over and hour and a half, Bridges, ably assisted by seven equally gifted musicians, two of them mainly on back-up vocals and the other five in the traditional line up of keyboards, a bit of sax, drums (and what drums!), a rhythm guitar, bass guitar, coupled with a slap bass, and a lead guitar that shifted and grew with every song. Bridges gave us something old, something new, something borrowed and a lot of blues.
For everyone in the audience that knows his music and his journey, he gave them what they wanted: Bridges at his very best, including Texas Sun, Begin Again, Smooth Sailing and Beyond, shifting and changing with the music. His body became as fluid as his voice as he moved through the evening in tune and in sync with every song. It’s at times edgy and coarse to deliver the strength and purpose of the song and at times fluid and silky – just the sort of music you put on for a quiet night at home with a log fire and a glass of very good wine. Red for me, but hey, there are no rules, just like with the music. His voice can be honey over silk or ice over stone, but always captivating and telling the story of the song.
The Adelaide audience loved him and he didn’t disappoint in reciprocating and teasing them, making them work for just a little bit more of his impressive talent. The audience response was truly 21st century, with men and women alike shouting out their admiration for his work. They made it very clear he could park his slippers under their bed at any time he wanted. This man’s talent oozes off the stage and there are some moments when the blues meets jazz and there are elements of acid Jazz mixed with soul, which lift you into an experience that will be hard to forget.
My only regret is that because of the need for that cool immersive sound, the quality of the mix was a bit muddy. So some of the lyrics and a lot of the spoken introductions of the amazing musicians on stage with Bridges got lost in a wash of sound. I know a set list by its nature can change, but a list and the names of the performers on a sheet of paper front-of-house on the day would give reviewers like me and fans like the ones present to know who they were listening to.
Bridges is off to Melbourne and Brisbane after Adelaide, ending up at the Opera House in Sydney at the beginning of October. I bet there will be a few groupies that will be following this troubadour and his band of brothers and sisters around the country. It is a formidable talent recognised by the Grammy awards and loved by Barack Obama and the family, who invited him to perform at the White House. It doesn’t get much better than that.
We must mention Milan Ring who opened for Bridges, an always thankless and often unrecognised task. Ring is an Australian R&B artist whose star is on the ascent. She’s articulate, multi-talented and very easy on the eye: a winning combination. Her selection of songs coupled with her ability to hold the stage solo with little to no lighting was extraordinary. She spent lockdown writing, producing and recording her latest album. If her opening set is a reflection of the quality of the work, I’m sold.
Reviewed by: Adrian Barnes
Photo Credit: Adrian Thomson
Venue: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Season Ended
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