Ben Harper
Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
I was just looking for a bit of a catharsis. After a soul-destroying day at work (is there any other sort?) I’d made it to Wolverhampton, fought my way to the bar to get a drink and now I just wanted my mind blown apart and my heart ripped out by an emotional performance from Ben Harper. Halfway through the first song and he plants the first blow as the swirling feedback of ‘God Fearing Man’ echoes around the hall, he lets his head fall back and emits a howl of anguish. Now, this is exactly what I needed.
However, four songs later and I’m hopping from foot to foot as the bass player plays an interminable solo, the band wallows in muso-masturbation and Ben Harper tries to hide his amazing presence under a blanket of musical expertise and bland, indulgent backing. They’ve already played one song where each band member did a solo and now they’re just adding whole swathes of pointless exhibitionism to each song.
As the solo comes to an end I find myself feeling intensely disappointed. Ben Harper has an amazing voice and amazing presence. He’s six foot lots of inches tall, has a big afro and the kind of cheek bones you can ski down, he plays sitting down and forces all the attention onto him by just existing. Yet, the first half of the gig, bar the first song, has been a steady exercise in subduing this.
However, he then plays ‘Forever’ and it goes straight to my heart. It’s quiet and gentle and heartfelt and you cannot help but be affected by his sweet voice. From this point he steadily rescues the gig. I realise that what he offers is not catharsis but comfort and when he starts to deliver the songs with more focus and less over-indulgence he grabs my concentration and delivers. He plays absolutely beautiful songs with his whole heart. I leave feeling that I have seen something truly special.
