Beth Hart: secret showcase @ Amstelkerk, Amsterdam (NL)

Originally posted on September 26, 2010.



I had a day off on Friday, but it still was fairly hectic.
I packed a bag for the weekend, ran an errand, then caught the train to Amsterdam. I met up with my friend EJ on Central Station. We had a bite to eat, and then walked on to the venue, Amstelkerk, a former church:



At first EJ and I walked past, while looking for the venue. EJ thought the people waiting in line were tourists, I thought they didn't look like the fans I'm used to seeing at her concerts. (My bad, indeed.) It turns out a small, intimate place - perfect for the album launch. (I managed to get on the guest list for Beth's secret showcase; she performed songs (old and new, because her audience asked) to a select few.)
For 15 Euros EJ and I both got the limited edition of her new album "My California" (official release date is October 1st) and a poster. Oh, ya, we both got our copies signed by Beth!
Can you spot me in the picture below? (Hint: I'm wearing a grey/charcoal colored t-shirt, and I'm looking away, because I was talking to my friend Natasha.)

"My California" is Beth's most personal album to date. Her rawness and honesty - despite a tough life - are what I've always found appealing, but never have her songs hit so close to home.
For personal reasons both "Sister Heroine" and "Love is the hardest" stood out from all the songs in her set list. (Thank you, Beth, for your liner notes.)

Love is the hardest = I struggle with this one. The ability to love beyond conditions has been hard for me. To open my heart & be willing to choose forgiveness, will continue to be a daily practice. Wish me luck!
Sister heroine = For my sister Sharon & anyone who thinks they're no good, you're always somebody else's hero.

 

It was a very inspiring concert, to say the least...

Beth Hart concert, De Kade in Zaandam (NL)

Orignally posted on February 1st, 2009.



I took my mom to her first Beth Hart concert, a couple of days before we left for Indonesia last year. It was an unplugged show, and even though it was a pretty good one my mom was a little disappointed: she was hoping for a rock show.
Several weeks later my friend Mirthe called me and asked me of I wanted to see Beth Hart in her hometown. I told her I ask my mom if she wanted to come along. Shortly after that I read the show was sold out (it sold out in one day). Mirthe's boyfriend then offered to pull some strings; he managed to get us on the guestlist!
Thanks to road construction the drive took 4.5 hours and by the time I reached my friend's house I was tired. My injured shoulder hurt, and my back cracked and popped as if there was no tomorrow.
Mirthe, EJ, mom and I had dinner at a place called The Mail Company - just around the corner of the venue. And guess what. Just as we were starting to eat in walked the band (sans Beth) and sat down at the table next to us! Seriously, if guitarist Jon Nichols hadn't looked in our direction so deliberately, I wouldn't have noticed them. Mirthe and I started speculating why Beth and her husband weren't with them; she wasn't at the sound check either...


Some cute chick called Julie was Beth's opening act. (I looked her up on the web, and it turned out to be none other than Julie Neumark. DANG! I hadn't recognize her, although I was practically standing next to her after the show. I could've told her I like her music and that I've seen her on AfterEllen. *Hint-hint*)... EEP!


Then it was Beth's turn to take the stage. When she walked on I briefly wondered if she was pregnant (she gained some more weight), but when she lit a cigarette I knew for certain she wasn't. She started with a couple of personal songs as if she needed to purge the fact she fell of the wagon and struggled back on. She connected with the audience, but her usual banter was kept to a minimum. I thought something was eating her, even though she tried to keep up appearances. After the show Mirthe told me she got the same impression... I just felt like walking up to Beth and giving her a bear hug.
So, even though she totally rocked De Kade, I felt it was a little off. (Too bad for some of the audience members - including mom, Mirthe and me - they didn't play Led Zep's "Whole lotta love".)


So, after the show we went into a little room off the side of the main hall. My mom, who wanted to rest her tired legs sat down on a couch. Next to drummer Todd Wolf! (I think he's kinda cute.) He was very polite, according to mom, but my mom was too tired to respond to him properly. Awww mom! She missed her chance to possibly snag a drummer ;)
And I... was too tired to even recognize Julie Newmark. (I think she already has a girlfriend...)

Beth Hart - theater tour

Originally posted on September 27th, 2008.





I was supposed to take my mom to a Beth Hart concert on December 31st, but she got sick. When a few months ago I incidentally saw she and her band were doing a theater tour and were scheduled to play in Eindhoven I got us tickets. Tonight's show was sold out.

Beth looked radiant (mom noticed she gained some weight, and less looking like an addict) and was stoked to be playing. She kicked off the set with "Stinky feet", followed by "Hiding under water" and "LA Song".
She's adapted several songs to be played in an acoustic setting, and I enjoyed it. Still: it was weird to be at a seated concert, when what you really want to do is sing along and move to the music. I think Beth and the band noticed the difference, too; Beth is the kind of performer who feeds off the energy of the audience. And with a seated audience the vibe is definitely different. The audience consists of people of all ages, who prefer substance over style. Speaking of which: Beth may not be MTV-pretty, she sure knows how the catch your eye. And I think some lady lovin' ladies agree (there were plenty of those in the audience). By the way: did you know that Beth used to date this Geany character she sings about in "Get your shit together"? I remember Beth telling the audience (at another concert) that her brother was dating a woman who she thought was very wrong for him. When they broke up, she started dating her...

By the time the band started playing "Face Forward Son" the enigmatic singer had jumped off the stage and walked into the audience, before climbing onto the balcony. How cool is that? The New Year Eve concert in Amsterdam was my first time I heard them play Otis Redding's "A change is gonna come", and they played it again last night. I like me some Otis. They played some new stuff, too: "Beautiful Child" and "Congratulations". The first is about if Beth and husband Scott would start a family ("It will be in rehab by the time it's one", joked Beth) this is the lesson she would give it. The second one was written after an ordinairy fight, and basically reflects Beth's insecurities. She also shares with the audience that after more than 5 years of sobriety she fell off the wagon some 2 months ago. This is why I really like this woman: in addition to writing beautiful songs she is, above all, very human. Not pretend-perfect like Britney Spears once was, but flawed and very real.

After a short intermission, where the roadies slightly altered the set, the band came back and played in full blues/rock mode: "Good as it gets", "Sick" and "Sky full of clover" (the latter being a request of a bunch of girls Beth met before the show).

The entire show lasted about 90 minutes, but it sure didn't feel like it. And even though Beth and her band delivered, I can't wait to see her play a regular show.

Beth Hart: up close and personal

This post was originally published on October 31st, 2005.

Beth Hart is currently on her "Up close and personal" tour and all the dates (9 in total) in the Netherlands were sold out in no time. I must admit that I was curious as to how her songs would carry themselves through an acoustic show - and which ones she was going to perform.

Beth draws inspiration for her songs through life experiences: poignant songs aplenty. She has battled her demons and she came out a stronger person - and the Dutch audience love her for that, and her honesty. Her popularity has been slowly but steadily rising in this part of Europe and I think that the release of her DVD "Live at Paradiso" (shot in 2004 and I was there!) is also contributing to this :)

If you like a good rock show then check out the DVD. (I don't get paid for mentioning this, trust me.)

A singer/songwriter named Gus Black opened and although he didn't make a lasting impression on me he was alright. I really liked his renditions of The Who's "Baba O'Riley" and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid".

Beth was accompanied by John Nichols, her ever cool headed guitarist. The setlist consisted of several songs she's written throughout the years (all her well known songs were performed), but she also took requests. I was pleasantly surprised to hear her play "Wash your stinky feet", which she dedicated to her husband *LOL* She hadn't played that song in a while and it's a great example of the fact that she also writes songs that, although obviously rooted in blues, are light and even downright funny.

Beth and John were clearly enjoying the evening and having fun. The audience was invited to come up on stage and sing and/or play along if they felt like it - twice. I regretted at those moments the fact I hadn't played any of her songs in quite a while (I need to dig up those tabs!). At one point she quipped she has to make up new stories, since she was sure the audience has heard all about her shit before. (She's quick to banter.) She also quipped about the fact she had to rearrange her boobs in her top - just like at the Paradiso gig.

While waiting in line to get in earlier that evening, I overheard several women voicing their expectations of this concert, even drawing comparisons to Melissa Etheridge's "Live and alone" tour. Hey now, has this concert gone gay one me? ;) Beth's tour is in no way similar to Etheridge’s aforementioned tour - ok, apart from the (partly) seated audience.

They great thing about Dutch people is that they sometimes really don't give a hoot about what someone's bussiness was in the past: she told the audience at the Pinkpop festival, last May, about one of her brother's girlfriends and that she started dating her after her brother broke up with her *lol* - that's the Geany in "Get your shit together". And I swear that even though the majority of the audience is straight no one batted an eye on hearing that info!

Her encore consisted of "LA song" (Beth's first hit in the Netherlands) and a chilling rendition of "Living under water" and a song she and John often play (born out of jamming together?) and starts with the line "Come on in and drink my gin..." A bunch of people - all volunteers from the audience - were invited to come on stage and sing the chorus. Everybody was having fun, but unfortunately the party was over after that. I'm sure everybody left the venue happy and feeling uplifted. I know I did.