Bethia Beadman : London Union Chapel : live review ‘baroque brilliance’
Beth Beadman
London Union Chapel
Dec 2014
Live Review
If you play the Union Chapel it’s a good idea to fill it.
Bethia Beadman did this twice, first with people (I won’t drop names) and then with her transcendental voice.
Bethia ascends the stage in a silk pink Kimono, strokes of long dark hair (and little else) and then comes the voice, what a mix – from PJ Harvey to Cat Power to Judy Garland. Judy Garland?!? Random I know- but it works.
Sometimes I wish she just did blues covers. But there would come the rub, as mesmeric a performer as she is, we would lose Bethia the author- the songwriter with a need to make songs of her own. Baroque compositions elevated the chapel, with reminiscence of Fairport Convention and Tim Buckley with a touch of Fantastical English foible. Complex arrangements veer far away from typical folk pop formulas, asking a little more of the audience, but offering a more potent experience.
