Thursday 24th September 2009 @ Colston Hall, Bristol

Only huge adjectives can be applied to Phantom Limb simply because of the sheer size of the voice rocketing through Colson Hall tonight, shaking the seats and tingling the skin; a huge voice and a fearless attitude, attitude by the great big, bright pink, satin sacks full. I don’t think you would want to get the wrong side of this lady!

Yolanda Quartey, who has sung for Massive Attack, has a heart full of passion the size of a tank. Good Fortune, Run and The Hard Way flew about for minutes on end, violins sawing, guitars strumming hard and bass booming, but nothing could out-power the voice from the woman dressed in black feathers. Combining country, soul and gospel, and dramatically pitching dizzying highs and lows, Yolanda’s voice is a weapon of such incredible force, it floors you.

It was good too see the Bristol-based Phantom Limb in a venue that could really hold them but it would have been better if there was a bit of standing for the audience as, with such vocal acrobatics and jam sessions on stage, some movement is demanded. Also, the lighting was very sporadic, often just beaming into the audience for a prolonged period but it was nice to see the spectators becoming acquainted with a band they wouldn’t have necessarily ever seen and it was interesting to see their reactions (and resulting album clutching after the break).

Next up was Beth Rowley, a local talent that was discovered at an open mic night at the Old Duke. She has since grown and, after being mentored by Carleen Anderson in Brighton, Beth has amalgamated all her blues, Latin, gospel and country influences and found her own specific sound. She has accumulated a large and loyal fan base along the way and a large majority of her later year groupies were in the audience tonight but all seemed very static, save from two jack-in-the-boxes in the third row who cheered zealously to every track.

Beth’s sound is old fashioned, sweet, honest and comforting; Karen Carpenter, Corinne Bailey Rae and Aretha Franklin pop into my mind. She is a tad reserved and safe, but this is of course why many of the people in the audience tonight like her so much; she isn’t too unpredictable or threatening. However, they were all in for a surprise as Beth cracked out some new songs that were decidedly staring at the tops of the skies, as opposed to smiling sweetly in the bandstand.

She sporadically shared musings on how since coming back to Bristol she has been hanging out with old friends and writing a lot and then welcomed some of those friends onstage including Bizali’s Blythe Pepino. With this return home you can feel the change in Beth herself, seeing that as she has grown up, become secure and confident, Bristol has become an inspirational Mecca once more. You can hear it in the words she has penned and see it in her hand-swinging, skirt-clutching, distance-staring performance. The place that shaped her has come back and the new songs are a result of the sensations and feelings acquired from returning to a place filled with memories, relationships and the fading cocoons of youth. Her voice too has stretched out and evolved the potential for a good cliff-side holler. I get the feeling that perhaps Beth Rowley doesn’t want to be the background music for dinner parties any more.

www.bethrowley.com

www.phantomlimbmusic.com

Helen Martin