One of the more interesting shows I’ve seen over the past couple years went down at Crowbar a few weeks back. The soulful singer by the name of Charles Bradley was stopping in Ybor on route down to Miami for a music themed cruise. He was greeted to an almost sold out crowd.
The most distinguishable thing about Charles Bradley is that he is 66 years old. Yes, you read that correctly. Now you may think, Wow! This guy has been making music his entire life, and still has it going for him in his 60’s! Well that’s not exactly the case. His story is by no means a Springsteen comparison. Bradley actually lived a somewhat troubled life, moving from city to city often and struggling for work. He played some music on the side but cooking was his main profession. It was only in the past 10 years that Bradley aimed to make a profession of his skills.
Through hard work and never giving up, Bradley debuted his album back in 2011, when he was just 62 years of age. The man has since followed that up with 2013 sophomore album, Victim of Love.
You can tell that finally making it in the music industry has left Bradley with much gratitude. From the minute he took the stage, he sang with much passion and emotion. He constantly thanked fans throughout the set for spending their evening with him. At points I thought he was going to break down in tears.
Bradley swayed and danced through a set that featured equal material from both of his albums. For casual music fans, "The World (Is Going Up in Flames)" and "How Long" are his most recognizable tunes. Those received the loudest receptions and Bradley showed off his impressive powerful vocals. It's no coincidence that his nickname is the 'Screaming Eagle of Soul.'
Even if you didn't know the material, Bradley still made things interesting for the audience. The 66 year old had multiple outfit changes, and would remove layer after layer of clothing by swinging it around his head before tossing it to the side of the stage. That definitely had the crowd going. It also helped that the screaming eagle has an excellent backing band, appropriately named 'the Extraordinaires.' The backing group definitely picked things up whenever they got a bit long.
A negative of the show was that the sound quality was very weak. Crowbar has never been known for its acoustics, but that night seemed to be worse than normal. Bradley remarked constantly throughout the evening that he could not even hear himself singing, and it was getting in the way of him putting on the best show possible. He continued to apologize as nothing could improve the sound during the performance.
But never the less, still a worthwhile show. I don't think I'll be rushing back to a Charles Bradley gig anytime soon, but I wouldn't steer anyone away from seeing him. He's an entertaining performer and could be the closest thing to seeing Otis Redding today.
CONCERT RATING: 2.5 Stars
video courtesy of jools...
No comments:
Post a Comment