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We were late. I was wearing my favourite tartan skirt, which, whilst stunning, was past floorlength and caused a stack up the QPAC steps, stirring a fit of the giggles that threatened to bring me undone before we'd even gotten into the Concert Hall. A disapproving frown from a thin-lipped usher intensified my urge to cack myself but fortunately I managed to compose myself with a series of deep breaths. Until I entered the Hall proper, only to find ourselves seated right in the middle and having to push past fifteen or so people, my skirt dragging along three seats behind and getting hooked in some old lady's handbag. So there I was, in a packed to near capacity hall, blocking everyone's view as I tried to extricate it.
Not that Lou Bennett (ex-Tiddas) minded - she was too busy doing what she does best, singing beautiful songs with a beautiful voice whilst playing melodic, beautiful guitar. Lou has a wonderfully throaty voice, and she matches it with simple songs which allow the listener to fully appreciate the powerful and playful lyrics as well as her joyful interpretation of them. Lou was happy to talk about reconcilliation and what it meant to her and it was fantastic to hear her positive words resonating throughout the concert hall. Lou's voice has such a wonderful Aussie strine quality to it, combined with unique Murri phrasing, that its incredibly special to listen to. She's such a talented person and I can only hope that she gets the wider recognition that she fully deserves. Half-time. Standing amongst the crowd to get my seven dollar water at the bar when the woman behind me stood on my skirt, preventing me from moving forward. I got the giggles again. I desperately lunged forward to grab my partner's collar and silently beg for help. To no avail. He just laughed and began ordering, leaving me to ponder how to gracefully sidestep my way out of the situation. By this point the queue had moved forward considerably and there was a large gap in front. In the end I had to turn around and face my dilemma. It was worse than I thought. The woman's partner was standing on my skirt as well. A quick throat clearing and a cool "Excuse me, I'm not sure if you've noticed but you're standing on my skirt", and I was away, hitching the bloody tartan up round my thighs and off into the crowd. Oh, the indignity. SWEET HONEY ON THE ROCK What can I say. I was blown away. This is not because I'd expected them to be any less fabulous than they were (I already knew of their reputation as incredible vocal musicians). However, I suppose that it wasn't until I was actually hearing their spine-chilling, pitch-perfect renditions of old spirituals, blues numbers and traditional African melodies that I realised that I was bearing witness to some of the most powerful female voices in the world. The five singers who make up Sweet Honey in the Rock are Bernice Johnson Reagon, Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Nitanju Bolade Casel, Aisha Kahlil and Carol Maillard (Sign Language Interpreter Shirley Childress Saxton was not present on the night). They each possess uniquely powerful voices, performing in complete meditation, swaying gently between songs, eyes closed as they keep complete focus on their musical prayers. Sweet Honey's founder, Bernice, was the mumma to end all mummas. She had the deepest, most gravelly, bass voice you were ever likely to hear. At times it downright snarled like a bass trombone, sending rumbling shivers up and down the spine. The two sisters, Aisha and Nitanju possessed voices that were completely thrilling. Older sister Nitanju led a powerhouse number, "Dankar", which was about praying for your children's children's children's children, so that by the time they were born they would be completely blessed already - what a great concept! During the song, Nitanju's co-singers stopped, leaving her to hold the most amazing note that went on forever and forever and forever and.....just as she was finally about to stop to take a breath.....she managed to tack on a whole other melodic phrase. Phenomenal. Younger sister Aisha proved that she was just as capable with a spine-tingling take of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song"as well as a breathtaking blues number, "I'm a Stranger Here", where she sang as though she was truly possessed by the spirit. Sweet Honey in the Rock are teachers and they had the QPAC audience joining in enthusiastically for a number of songs. It was a joy to hear, even the stuffy man in the suit who was next to me had a go, despite being way out of tune. One particular highlight for me was the spiritual, "No More Auction Block For Me", where Bernice would hit each note and hold it, before the other four entered at exactly the same moment to sustain a five part chord, before going off into a five-part harmony improvision of the word. Magic stuff. The QPAC audience really appreciated Sweet Honey and they acknowledged this appreciation by obliging us with a third encore, which obviously hadn't been pre-planned. So that was the show. Magnificent. Now, if only I could've navigated that gap in the carpark lift without getting my skirt caught...........
~Neriman Kemal~ |
