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Toshi Reagon was all I hoped for, and more. This bold, black, bald Brooklyn singer/songwriter, on her first visit to Melbourne for the International Arts Festival, was a true New Yorker: self-assertive, loud and unashamed. It was not for nothing that her second number was called Braggin’. She knew how to work her Spiegeltent audience, how to get them on their feet, sing and clap along. A real entertainer in the R&B/rock tradition.

She had promised us “a few folk songs”, as she sat down with her acoustic guitar in front of her band BIGLovely (a name a girlfriend called her that really says it all), and proceeded to rock the house. Yet these are essentially folk songs, songs she has written herself that blend all her various influences: blues, gospel, R&B, rock and funk. Surprisingly, there is not much reference to rap or nod to musical fashion. Toshi is her own woman, with her own style. Her songs are sweet melodies that morph into joyous gospel-inflected anthems, driven by her and Judith Casselberry, also on rhythm guitar and vocals, and the rhythm section, consisting of drums (Robert “Chicken” Burke), bass (Fred Cash) and electric guitar (Adam Widoff).

Live performance is Toshi’s forté. Her voice sounds light in recordings, but takes on more nuances and dynamics onstage. She sets the pace, settling into a killer groove with the band, and then shocks and delights us with sudden changes of mood, volume and key. Her timing, both in her music and her humour, is impeccable. Spontaneity and working with the audience are her strengths and make for a hugely entertaining night.

Halfway through the hour-long performance, Toshi brought her mother Bernice Johnson Reagon (founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock) onstage to sing harmonies. Both had come straight from their earlier involvement that night in the musical The Temptation of St Anthony at the State Theatre. Bernice provided a rich lower register that complemented her daughter’s lighter voice. Judith Casselberry wove a third harmony into the vocal lines and the result was magic.

For the finale a number of the performers from Temptation of St Anthony joined in the fun to add their voices and raise the roof of the Spiegeltent. Alleluia!


Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely

Venue: The Famous Spiegeltent | The Arts Centre
Dates: Friday, 12 October to Saturday 13 October 2007
Times: 9.45pm
Duration: 1 hour, no interval
Tickets: $22 - $40
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 136 166 | www.melbournefestival.com.au