Vika Bull
and The Essential R & B Band
The
Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre
Saturday 4th
July
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
Some people
are born to sing. Etta James was one, Vika Bull another. Black American blues
singer, Etta James, had a long and tumultuous career, during which she won six
Grammy Awards and a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. James is credited as being one of the first to
bridge the gap between rhythm & blues, rock & roll and pop, and there
can be few who have not heard a recording of her signature song “At Last”.
Vika Bull’s
pathway to fame has been has been quite different. As one half of the sister
act, Vika & Linda, Bull has maintained a successful career since the
1980’s, both as a recording artist and backing singer to some country’s finest
performers including Paul Kelly, John Farnham, Tim Finn and The Black Sorrows,
as well as overseas artists of the calibre of Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Sting and
Joe Cocker.
 |
| Vika Bull |
Although
she professes to being most comfortable singing harmonies up the back, the
choice of Vika Bull for this excellent tribute show about Etta James is nothing
less than inspired. It matters little that she bears only a passing physical resemblance to James,
because Vika Bull’s own charming, self-effacing, stage presence and her
astonishing ability to reach right into the heart of each song and transform and illuminate it with her
own finely honed vocal and stagecraft abilities, allows her to pay tribute to
James, without resorting to imitation.
The show
itself follows the well-trodden formula of running through the details of Etta
James life, punctuated by songs most associated with her career. “W.O.M.A.N.”, “It’s a Man’s Man’s World”,
“Take It To The Limit”, and of course, “At Last”, are all included and
brilliantly performed by Bull and her band. Bull’s truly sensational heart-wrenching
performance of “I’d Rather Go Blind” earned her the first of several standing
ovations during the performance from the capacity audience.
This is a
class show. The musical arrangements are superb, and given stunning treatment
by the seven-piece Essential R & B Band. John H. Livings narration is candid,
informative and thankfully avoids sensationalising the more unsavoury aspects
of James’s life. It is delivered by Bull, trumpeter Tibor Gyapjas and on
occasion, other members of the band, with warmth and sincerity.
Careful
attention to stage placement throughout the performance, an attractive
back-drop featuring a slowly receding cityscape, together with the
well-designed lighting and sound plot, pointed to a strong directorial hand. Not
even some missed sound cues caused by an inattentive sound technician at the
beginning of the show could dint the polish.
In fact the
way both Bull and Gyapjas coped, by calmly repeating the cues, rather than
rushing on, highlighted the impressive attention to detail lavished on this
production.
But as
satisfying and interesting as it is as tribute to a great bygone singer, “At
Last – The Etta James Story” is memorable for the thrilling showcase it
provides for the extraordinary talents of another outstanding singer who is
very much with us. We look forward with much anticipation to “At Last – The
Vika Bull Story”.
This review also appears on the "Australian Arts Review" website
