REVIEW: GLADYS KNIGHT @ FESTIVAL THEATRE
She’s earned the right to be a little goofy and carefree on stage – she’s Gladys ‘fucking’ Knight!
Words by Jack Paech
Image Supplied
Putting aside her legendary career for a moment (which is a difficult thing to do), Gladys Knight’s voice alone has its own kind of gravity. Her vocal dexterity on record translates to the stage without losing any of its character or range. Knight’s ‘The Farewell Tour’ was full of moments that felt like unearthing a time capsule and finding everything inside in pristine condition. At various peaks throughout the show, like during ‘Every Beat of My Heart’, Knight would sustain a note in oscillating vibrato for close to 15 seconds. While witnessing moments like that it suddenly became hard to believe she had to be held by the arm to walk on stage. Elsewhere she’d falsetto into vocal runs or belt out lyrics with impressive gravitas – her voice was always controlled and effortlessly affected.
This same effortlessness was the most striking thing about her stage presence. With a very minimal, inobtrusive light show accompanying her performance, the quality of the show rested on Knight’s ability to fill the entire space with her presence. Fortunately, she managed that and then some. Knight’s Motown charisma might as well run through her veins the way it exuded through every step she took, every ad-lib she belted between refrains, and every mid-song chuckle. That confidence is what happens when you’ve achieved everything you ever wanted to achieve and the only thing left to do is have some fun. She even paused to blow her nose right before a genuinely touching performance of ‘Neither One Of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)’, and the contrast made for the most strikingly telling moment of the show. She’s earned the right to be a little goofy and carefree on stage – she’s Gladys ‘fucking’ Knight!
In some of these unscripted moments, there was a certain humility, and Knight always seemed to find a way to leverage this to serve the performance. During ‘Neither One Of Us…’ she sat back and let her backing vocalists take the lead, occasionally providing harmonies and looking on at her “sisters and brothers” on stage with an expression of admiration that made her look like a proud Mother. The nine musicians who joined her were all given their chance to bask in the spotlight’s glow for a few moments (the acoustic guitar/keyboard interplay during ‘Oh! What A Love I Have Found’ was a particular highlight). It was clear just how much Knight not only trusted them but also enjoyed playing with them.
But in the end, it was all about Gladys Knight, the consummate performer and her inimitable career. ‘The Farewell Tour’ covered hits from her time with The Pips (‘Love Overboard’), as well as her biggest solo songs (‘Midnight Train to Georgia’), and all of it was performed with the professionalism and natural charm of a singer who's had her whole lifetime to prepare the most triumphant goodbye imaginable.
And on that long, unwavering note: so long, Empress of Soul.
