Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man
Live - Milano, Rollling Stone, 09.02.2003

THE REVIEW

I am leaning on the railing, up high, watching the people, waiting for the live performance of Beth Gibbons to start. I watch people talking, people drinking and smoking, people observing other people in the general hum of soft music.
It doesn’t feel like being at a concert, it feels like just another evening in just another place. There isn’t that anxious anticipation to listen to one of the most beautiful female voices ever heard, it almost seems that everyone is here for who knows what other reasons.

But as soon as the lights go out, a scream rises and all the little heads turn to the stage, towards her. The arpeggio of “Mysteries” begins and Beth grabs the microphone in her characteristic pose, huddled self-contained, motionless in her lean figure.
The people who were talking, drinking, and smoking are now suddenly captivated by the voice of an angel and listen in reverent silence to the talent of Beth Gibbons.

I wake up when the cigarette end almost burns my fingers, I take a couple of photos, and we go down below.
Rustin Man shows off a huge double bass, a lovely girl accompanies with a violin Beth’s voice, while the trusty Adrian Utley sits among keyboards and Moog. But the attention is all on Gibbons, her sultry voice alone creates an intimate and close-knit atmosphere.

In “Show” her delicate vocalizations hypnotize like Ulysses in front of the sirens’ song. In “Resolve” it almost feels like sitting on a beach in front of a bonfire. But it is in “Tom the Model” and especially in “Funny Time of Year” that the ethereal and decadent soul of Portishead emerges, and here Gibbons gives her best by combining power and sweetness in a blend of vocalizations that send shivers down your spine.

We’re at the end, after not even an hour of concert. Honestly, it’s a bit too short, an encore with some unreleased pieces would have been more than welcome, but no one protests, just applause because everyone has heard what they were present for, which is a sublime and superior quality voice. A good appetizer while waiting for another succulent serving of Portishead.