Gig review/ NCPA Soulful Blues Festival

 

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Event: NCPA Soulful Blues Festival

Artistes: Beatrice Kahl & b.groovy with Joan Faulkner & David Tobin; Natalie Williams and The Soul Family

Genre: Soul, funk, pop

Details: Tata Theatre, Nariman Point, March 18 and 19

Rating: *** 1/2

For the two-day NCPA Soulful Blues Festival, the interval had been extended to 25 minutes, which probably lasted 35. The idea was to let people chill over a drink, grab a leisurely bite or simply indulge in hi-hello-how-are-you. Many folks at the Tata Theatre also had an earworm during the break.

On the opening night, it was Michael Jackson's 'Man In The Mirror', sung by David Tobin who guested with pianist Beatrice Kahl's group b.groovy. The following day, it was Cyndi Lauper's super-hit 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun', performed by Natalie Williams and The Soul Family (in picture). Both these songs were played just before half-time whistle.

Now, one may insist that both were pop songs. So where were the blues? And Cyndi's number was more singalong-chirpy than soulful. Maybe some were misled by the show title of Soulful Blues, but the idea was to present a string of soul, rhythm n' blues, funk and retro-pop numbers with shades of disco and boogie thrown in.

For those growing up as teenagers in the 1970s and 1980s, this was pure nostalgia. For the Beatrice Kahl b.groovy show, the first half featuring Tobin included KC & The Sunshine Band ('Boogie Shoes'), Kool & The Gang ('Get Down On It') and Chaka Khan ('Ain't Nobody').

After the break, vocalist Joan Faulkner took over immediately announcing her presence with Tina Turner's 'Simply The Best'. She then went into early blues with Ma Rainey's 'See See Rider', did a couple of Aretha Franklin classics ('You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman' and 'Respect') and went on to the Ray Charles-popularised 'Georgia On My Mind' and Louis Armstrong's 'What A Wonderful World'.

Though b.groovy did only one original - a dedication to the ladies of the blues - they took much of the crowd back to school. After all, many of these songs were radio favourites for an entire generation. The back-up band consisted of guitar, piano, bass and drums, keeping things tight and letting the singers hold fort.

The second night had a different structure.  Trumpet and saxophone were added to the normal line-up. Vocals were shared by Natalie Williams, Vula Malinga, Sharlene Hector and Brendan Reilly, who took turns in doing lead, besides singing harmonies. And the set was a mix of originals ('Butterfly', 'Freeze Time', 'Start Walking') and covers.

Some of the known songs included Whitney Houston's 'How Will I Know?', sung immaculately by Sharlene, Gladys Knight's 'Midnight Train To Georgia' and Sterling Holloway's 'Trust In Me' from The Jungle Book, solo-ed by Brendan. A Stevie Wonder medley was done brilliantly.

Natalie's group, which has a regular residency at London's prestigious Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, took its time to warm up to the crowd. By starting with originals, they did not instantly create an impact. The horns and the increased overall volume didn't make them 'soulful' either. But once the familiar stuff took over, the mood changed. Vula's crowd-surfing act received a huge applause, and some of the solos got the deserved plaudits. Phil Peskett was a delight on keys, though the sound was erratic, specially when the singers tried to be in tandem. At times, the theatrics overshadowed the musicality 

Compered by Brian Tellis, both evenings interestingly had an encore that began with the same two words. While b.groovy did the Bill Withers hit 'Ain't No Shine', the Soul Family concluded with 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Tarrell. That ain't no coincidence - or was it?

Though there were observations that the line-up on both days didnt comprise popular stars, and that local bands playing similar music don't get half the attention, what was clearly seen was that there is an audience for music from that period, including that created by black musicians.

Be it soul, funk or dance-pop, the radio and school socials once had a substantial amount of all that. Songs like Roberta Flack's 'Killing Me Softly', Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive', George McCrae's 'Rock Your Baby', Diana Ross' 'My Old Piano' and Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition' have a dedicated following and are played at parties and live gigs even today. Hopefully some of them will be featured the next time such an event is held. The earworms may change, but the mood will be equally nostalgic.