REVIEWS 2008	Setlists, photos, reviews and meet & greet reports.
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Review

It's time for the last of the four showcases in Germany. The venue is pretty full when after support act Wolfgang Michels, main act Beth Hart enters the stage alone and she starts a wonderful new song called "Beautiful Child". This turns out to be a great opener, because the songs draws everybody's attention. Guitar player, Jon Nichols supports Beth during the second song. "Stinky Feet" is back from being gone and brings a short and cheerful moment after the first loaded ballad. Together they move on with "Hiding Under Water". Halfway during the song drummer Todd Wolf and bass player Tom Lilly make their first appearance. The instruments are blowing through the venue and in three songs Beth manages to prove her diversity.

The single "Good As It Gets" follows. You can see that a few already know the song because they are singing along. But also the people who don't sing are visibly enjoying this fun and up-tempo song. "Sick" is the next song on the set list and is dedicated to "our shitty ass president". "Delicious Surprise" sounds good as always and when Beth sits herself down at the edge of the stage it seems like she will walk into the crowd, but no it doesn't happen tonight. The bombastic song "Skin" sounds really good tonight. During "Monkey Back" it becomes very clear that Beth is having a great time, or as she puts it herself: "I'm having a good fucking time over here!".

The band leaves the stage while Beth and Jon play the well-known "LA Song". Beth is offered a beautiful bouquet of flowers by Andreas Schmidt from her label East Zone Music. She is very grateful and thanks him and the audience, after which she leaves the stage.

The first song of the encore is "Leave The Light On". A couple of fans light sparklers, after which Beth interrupts the song for a second with the words "Oh my God!". After this song she's overloaded with a big applause. With a modest face she keeps thanking the fans. Then Beth tells the audience what "Jealousy" means. It means that if Scott (who is called to the stage) would ever touch another woman Beth would kill this woman and go to jail. The night ends rocking with "Face Forward" and "Immortal". Beth introduces this last one by telling that she has toured in Germany when she was 24. She opened up for The Scorpions back then. The solo's will not be forgotten tonight. Tom starts a pretty long one and is supported by Todd, who takes the next turn. Beth and Jon are enjoying this all on the side of the stage. All together they close the set and take a couple of bows before the leave the stage.

Still the German fans are not satisfied; they are so into the show that they don't want Beth to stop playing. Therefore they are screaming loudly for more. It's so loud that Beth doesn't want to disappoint them and returns with the whole band. She asks the crow if they are getting paid for cheering so loudly. The definite, amazing end of this evening is the Sam Cooke cover "A Change Is Gonna Come". One word: WOW!

© BethHartMusic

Photos by © Jane Murray Cramm

Review

Tonight finally the concert took place which was cancelled in November of last year, because of voice-issues. One more regular rock concert, before Beth and band will show their skills in the Dutch theatre's in September. Reason enough for the Dutch fans to look forward to this evening.

Support-act this evening is Wies, a singer from Rotterdam, who already supported Beth on several shows in November. This time she left her keyboard-player at home and performed with only her guitarist. It was a decent performance, but it couldn't be short enough for the so-called "die-hart's" in the house. The sooner Beth will appear on stage the better. After the support-act we still have to wait for about half an hour, before the star of the evening will enter the stage.

When the moment was there, everybody had already forgotten all about the long time they spend waiting. Beth appeared on stage alone. She told the audience about a little argument she had backstage with her husband Scott about which song she should start the show with. She really wanted to start with "Mama", but eventually Scott got his way and so she started playing a beautiful version of "Favorite Things". Right after this she tells us that she and Scott would love to have a baby. But because of her past she's a little cautious about it. So she wrote a song about it. She is hoping that if she plays this song often, she will get the courage to have a baby. The great new song is called "Beautiful Child".

After having played two songs solo, it's time for guitar player Jon to support Beth on stage. Together they play "Stinky Feet". In this song she sings about the smelly feet of hubby Scott who, according to Beth, recently started having stinky feet. Before that she was just telling the story for fun. Next on the setlist is "Hiding Under Water". Halfway during the song the band falls in to complete the song.

After a pretty peaceful start of this evening Beth feels like it's time to have some fun. Successively, they play "Good As It Gets", "Waterfalls" and "Face Forward". Before this last song she tell the crowd that her father is a Republican and this song obviously reminds us about her secret wish to give über-Republican George W. Bush orders in a boot camp. Right after this one we got a quiet moment with "Skin" before the band makes the crowd go wild during "Monkey Back". "LA Song" is always a favourite.

The fans who have been following Beth Hart for a while recognize "Gimme Gimme" right away, in which Beth reveals how she prefers to be satisfied. She sings the song sitting on a stool while Jon plays the strings of his acoustic guitar. Halfway during the song Beth rises from her stool to sit down on stage and show the audience how a man should 'amuse' her. With a great version of "Sick" they wake up the audience again, after which they get to enjoy "Jealousy" peacefully. "One Eyed Chicken" seems to be the final song of this evening, but of course there is an encore coming up.

The crowd shouts for more and the first row of people bang their hands on stage so hard that it couldn't be ignored by the singer. She appears on stage again to anticipate to the audience needs. This time she is decorated with a huge orange hat. She really didn't want to wear it, but 'her man' made her choose between wearing this hat or go back to drinking. She chose the least harmful option.

Solo again she delivers goose bumps to the audience with a breathtaking version of "At The Bottom". Together with Jon she starts playing "Leave The Light On". halfway the rest of the band joins the duo. Now Beth doesn't know what song to play, so she asks the audience what they want to hear and someone yells "Whole Lotta Love". She doesn't mind playing this one at all, but she explains that it will ask a lot of her voice and therefore it will be the last song of the evening. The audience doesn't mind. They want to rock once more. And so they got what they wanted, and hard too! What a clincher!

© BethHartMusic

Photos by © BethHartMusic

The new year is starting good for the Dutch Beth Hart fans with three shows in one week. Expectations are high because this will be the last show for a while. After the show in the Effenaar tonight, Beth will leave our little cold country. The venue opens its doors early and has a very broad stage. Therefore the many die hard fans had the chance on a good viewing position. Within minutes the first four rows are filled with people. When the supporting act Wies comes on the stage she receives big applause from the sold old venue.

Beth's setlist is already clearly visible on the stage floor. Some fans recognize "Lifetime", "Blame The Moon" and the Led Zeppelin cover "Whole Lotta Love". But with Beth, nothing is for certain because you never know what she will actually play.

It has been a while since Beth opened with the touching piano ballad "Lifetime". Perhaps that is why she added an alternate lyric moment while singing it. Still, it is one of her best opening songs ever and the audience is loving it.

Like many other Beth Hart shows this is a road show of up-tempo and slow ballads featuring the rollercoaster called life. "No matter who you are you deserve the best and that's what this song is about.". And they play "Good As It Gets", "Lifts You Up" and "Delicious Surprise" in a row. Beth then asks the audience if they have enough drinks, to which they reply loudly: "Yeah!". "You are lucky",, Beth says and smiles.

"Skin" and "Blame The Moon" sound very impressive and even more beautiful than a couple of days ago in Paradiso and Tivoli. Sick is dedicated to president Bush and at the end of the everyone sings along with the line "Now you've been voted out". This is the long live version with band solo's from all . Then it's time for the next song introduction: "Face Forward". "This is also for George Fuckhead Bush", Beth remarks. She then adds "I think it is OK to write about shit heads, especially when they are called Bush!". According to the applause the audience agrees.

"L.A. Song" is played next and is a well-known favourite. "Jealousy" might be one of the newer songs, it is just as popular and is counted as one of the best tracks on the album by many fans and critics. Beth is very talkative tonight and this song also gets introduced with a small anecdote. Her husband Scott had a little accident and hurt his eye. When Beth called to check up on him she asked him how his eye was. His eye was better and he could already see a bit more with it. Which woke up the jealous woman in Beth: "Did you look at any other women?". The crowd laughs and sings along with "Jealousy".

The show feels intimate and interactive. When people in the first row started to ask for "Trouble" she decided to give it a go. The song is big hit even though it is not that familiar yet. Time is going by fast and "Monkey Back" is the last song before going offstage. As usual Beth and band return for an encore. She thanks the audience and the people who come to every show.

Tonight's version of the Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" is the best so far. She sings it with so much soul, so much passion it is almost as if this is her own song. The music and lyrics of this song fit in her repertoire perfectly. Her voice is starting to grow tired, which lessens the chance to hear songs like "Am I The One" or "Whole Lotta Love". But the audience should still expect some real treats. "Waterfalls" and "Leave The Light On" have become regular songs this tour and the audience simply loves them. Beth can't do anything wrong, and tossed in a few alternate lyric moments during them. The way she handles these tonight gains her even more respect from the audience and makes her look only human. "I just had too many drugs", is her simple explanation.

The highlight of the night was not planned. When Beth and band said goodbye to the audience and walked away, Beth asked them if they had the balls to try the new song. They came back and surprised everyone with a brilliant new song called "Wheels Came Off". The new album is just been in stores but we are already looking forward to the next one!

© BethHartMusic

Photos by  © Dave van Hout

Review

When last year's show was cancelled due to voice problems, many fans were disappointed. But other fans were glad with the new date and were bidding like crazy on the last tickets. Tivoli is among the favourite Beth Hart venues in the Netherlands. The venue is intimate, not too large and has a balcony for a good view. What is not so good is the sound quality. Especially in the back of the venue next to the bar and on the balcony the sound is not that good and you can hear people talking and laughing very loud.

The support act is singer/songwriter Wies again. When she leaves the stage, Beth's husband, Scott comes onstage with the setlist which gets the fans excited. And not without a reason, because "Blame The Moon", "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Forever Young" appear to be on the list tonight. It is the live debut for "Forever Young" from the new record "37 Days".

Just like on the DVD "Live At Paradiso" Beth and band open with "Hiding Under Water". A great opener! The song sounds great every time she sings it. Tonight you can hear she is saving her voice. During the last part where she screams "You don't say that it hurts", she is holding back a little. She receives a big applause from the audience and wishes the audience a happy new year.

After telling about the successful new years show we get to hear "World Without You" which is not making a big impression on the audience. It is until "One Eyed Chicken" and "Say My Name" that the audience gets excited and sings along. Just like the song they "say it loud". According to Beth "Say My Name" is about her boyfriend before Scott. The song, with the long guitar intro by Jon Nichols, is improving every time they play it live. It now has a more 'finished' feel than the version on Rehearsals.com video.

"Forever Young" is a real treat for the "die Hart" fans who did not hear this one live before. Some audience favourites are "Bottle Of Jesus" and "Monkey Back". The last one is a fan request and is played instead of "By Her" which is on the original setlist. Spontaneous fan requests like this give the show an extra dimension and a close feel. While playing "Good As It Gets" it really shows that Beth is having a good time tonight as she is rocking on her piano seat.

The piano ballad "Blame The Moon" from her first album "Immortal" is not a regular live song. But she is playing it now more often because so many fans voted for this song during the new year's eve contest on this website. She performs this song with so much passion and when she sings"It's the season of the witch" her eyes twinkle.

Beth decides not to tell the dingleberry story tonight, but now that she has already mentioned it she can not stop herself anymore and tells the story in a nut shell. Before continuing with "L.A. Song" she treats the audience on some Dutch language: "schijt zeven kleuren" (poop in seven colors, a Dutch saying when you have great fear).

Another highlight of the show is the Sam Cooke cover "A Change Is Gonna Come". The fans who were not there in Paradiso on new year's eve are pleasantly surprised that she plays this great cover which seems to fit her so well. Some of them even thought about it as a new song of her. This must be a great compliment for her.

She thanks the audience and leaves the stage after a big applause. Soon after that Beth and her guitar player Jon come back for an encore; "Leave The Light On". Drummer Todd Wolff and bass player Tom Lilly return for the second part of the song which always gives a great boost to the live experience of this song.

"Waterfalls" is great closer but not as great as her previous closers like "Am I The One" or "Whole Lotta Love" which did not get played mostly due to voice problems which appeared clearly at the end of the show. But the audience is dancing, singing along and give her an enormous applause at the end. The audience is hoping for another encore song. With of the personal touch of the show, and the relationship she has with her fans, it is as if they were saying: "We do not mind Beth, we understand you have to take care of your voice and we did have a great time again". And that pretty much sums up the whole show.

© BethHartMusic

Photos by © BethHartMusic