28 April 2016 (gig)
07 May 2016
With sell outs at the Royal Albert Hall and here tonight at Hammersmith it’s worrying to think that the next step up for Gregory Porter are the likes of Wembley and the O2. As someone mentioned this evening this is about as big as it should get. And they have a point as Porter deftly played this venue as a mid-sizes auditorium but conjuring up that basement jazz and soul club vibe.
Gifted pianist, songwriter and vocalist Kandace Spring is on first and treated the audience to some scintillating jazz. The three piece – drum and double bass accompaniment – went through a series of numbers that brought back memories of those 70’s jazz themed soundtracks. All very smooth and slick, bit Bond theme at times but never loosing that bourbon in the darkened bar grit.
The lights dim and on come the band for a brief instrumental intro before Gregory Porter walks on to open with Holding On. It’s a clever opening, hinting of what’s to come. Generous with the stage, Porter gives these gifted musicians given plenty of space during the concert to show off their talents.
Gregory Porter himself is a natural performer and is in fine form bantering with the band and audience as he takes choice cuts from his back-catalogue and new album. And there’s plenty of the latter, Take Me to the Alley is set to become a standard, and mingles perfectly with a powerful Liquid Spirit – and a thundering Musical Genocide. It is fair to say that these songs have a harder edge live and that’s palpable during an emotionally charged 1960 What? which wraps up the main set brilliantly.
Porter returns for an encore, just he and pianist Chip Crawford which is incredibly touching and as they go off that would close the evening on an emotional high. But Porter and band return though this time, leaves early for the band to play us out. This is generous but does lead to a stretched instrumental segment and smacks a little of self-indulgence and the concluding drum solo is just too long. This could just end of tour revelry but it did take a bit away from the overall concert. Nevertheless, for 98% of the time this is a sublime performance.
Photograph courtesy of Nicole Engelmann
