I'm not a card-carrying Christian. I'm not even a card-carrying member of the ALP anymore. So I guess I'm not a true believer, in any sense. But if anything could make me believe, or make-believe I believe, it would be the likes of Mavis Staples, who gave us 'something old, something new, and something from the future'. The Staples have been an institution, a veritably Smithsonian one, for 60 years. And she's been there all along. Not even The Strolling Bones can say that. Speaking of Rolling Stone, the magazine, it listed her as one of the 100 greatest singers of all time. She's cherubic, inspirational, a forcefield of positive energy. Her songs aren't just about Jesus, but about social conscience, much as the mythical Christ would've had it. In that sense, she's a true, socialistic Christian soldier, fighting for the rights of people, all people, to have jobs, education, health, welfare, rights and enough. She mightn't be able to cure poverty, but she can sure make people feel better about it. Even the people suffering from it. She hammers out justice with every rasping note. And she has a lot of good backup.Her band is comprised of Rick Holmstrom, on guitar and vocals; the towering Jeff Turmes, bass and vocals; Stephen Hodges, drums; Donny Gerard, vocals; Mavis' sister, vocals; and another female vocalist whose name I didn't quite distinguish, but whose voice distinguished itself.
Holmstrom mightn't look like a prefab guitar god, but he is; an extraordinary player that would've slotted in nicely to, say, Bill Haley's or Carl Perkins' band, or Elvis' Las Vegas lineup. He is rock 'n' roll through and through. Turmes is a sensitive ensemble player of great musicality, and Hodges a powerhouse drummer, greatly inventive and spontaneous. Gerard is so good, he probably deserves to be on that top 100 list too.
They covered quite a lot of territory, historically, in a relatively short space of time, including a prize selection or two from their Grammy-nominated album of a couple of years ago, Hope At The Hideout. One of the most captivating songs, however, was from their new album, released late last year: You Are Not Alone, a title encapsulating a message many downtrodden and downcast Americans, for starters, probably need to hear right now. Produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, who found instant, mutual rapport with Mavis, it marks a new direction for The Staples and for gospel, per se. The title track capitalises on all the upbeat, hopeful energy of the genre, and no Rev will rev your engine like the gravel-paved gospel grit of Mavis.
After interval, The Blind Boys Of Alabama were up and opened with the title track from their new album, Take The High Road. (It marks a new direction for them as well, inasmuch as it's the first time they've really indulged their guilty, somewhat ironic secret, for posterity. The secret? They love country music. Founder Jimmy Carter grew up on a nutritious diet of Hank Williams.) There could be no better exposition of their heaven-sent harmonies; within moments the entire Sydney Opera House Concert Hall was entirely behind them and riding with them, along the high road, through the valley. Like the inimitable Staples, The Blind Boys have been around for decades. In case you don't know their story, they formed in 1939, at The Alabama Institute For The Negro Blind. After sweating and slaving away playing church halls and sundry other venues across the black gospel circuit, they finally made it to the studio in 1948. Every song they sing seems to carry this entire history and heritage, this gravitas, with it. Like Mavis, The BBOA were part of the backbone of the civil rights movement and they bring that intensity, those values, to every performance, too.
Apart from their goosebump singing, they're nothing if not entertaining. There's a whole sequence in which their tour manager and a band member try and quell their enthusiasm, their divine inspiration, trying, to no avail, to get them to stay in their chairs. Later Carter makes his way around the huge hall, exhorting us to applaud and clap and generally enter into the spirit of things or, perhaps, allow the spirit of things to enter into us.
As if The Staples and The BBOA weren't more than enough for any gospel glutton, we also were privy to Aaron Neville, who has, of course, fused falsetto and vibrato in a way no one else ever has or, probably, ever will. Much adored, he must be the beefiest angel ever, returning to house of gospel for the first time since losing his home (but not hope) in Hurricane Katrina.
The roof of the SOH is already vaulted, already raised, already majestic. But Mavis, The BBOA and Aaron raised it just that little bit higher. Hallelujah!
Bluesfest Touring presents
A Gospel Celebration
The Blind Boys of Alabama featuring Aaron Neville plus 2011 Grammy winner Mavis Staples and her band
Venue: Sydney Opera House
Dates: 25-26 April, 2011
Bookings: www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | www.sydneyoperahouse.com.au
