Mavis Staples at Union Chapel, London – 7 Things We Learned.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Blues Hall of Fame inductee, Mavis Staples has had a remarkable career. She sang with her family band which moved from their church roots in the 50s to the vanguard of the Civil Rights movement in the 60s, before becoming a commercially successful R&B group in the 70s. Turning solo, Mavis recorded with Prince and in the last twelve years or so, has re-invented herself as a rootsy, bluesy, Americana artist, with a heavy dose of gospel. Her latest album, If All I Was Was Black addresses the broken heart of today’s America, suggesting that, despite the racism, violence and lying, redemption is possible. Mavis Staples wants to “Bring us all together as a people – that’s what I hope to do. You can’t stop me. You can’t break me. I’m too loving,” she says. “These songs are going to change the world.”

Down at the Crossroads caught her show in Union Chapel, London. Here’s what we learned:

1. Mavis Staples is a lovely person. That’s it. No qualifications. She loves her band, she loves performing and she loves her audience. And it showed from the moment she breezed onto the stage to warm applause and cheering at Union Chapel.

 

2. Union Chapel is a wonderful concert venue in north London. It’s a working church which hosts gigs by major artists and recording sessions, and has fantastic acoustics. Nobody is very far from the artist which gives the whole things a wonderful, intimate feeling. You can sign up for dinner before a gig and so get in early to nab your seat – and contribute to the church’s homeless ministry by so doing.

 

3. Mavis’s first song set the stage for the rest of her set – she sang about “love and peace,” and invited the audience to “take my hand.” “I got people who love me,” she sang, in that unmistakable voice which can rasp, croon, scat or belt it out, as the need may be. You begin to feel the love, forgetting for a while Trump, Brexit and all the other stuff that has been annoying you. We ended up, most of us strangers, holding each other’s hands and beaming like children.

 

4. Love and peace for sure – but also, she said, she was there to bring us some “joy, happiness, inspiration and positive vibrations.” And that she did for about 75 glorious minutes (too short, Mavis, but then you have just turned 79, sorry for bringing that up!).

5. And the joy and inspiration clearly comes from Mavis’s Christian faith – she unabashedly gave us the old blues song, Death Comes Creeping (covered by a host of artists, including Mance Lipscomb, Fred McDowell and Bob Dylan) – asking “whatcha gonna do when death comes creeping at your door?” Followed up by Far Celestial Shore, with its “jubilation, joy and exaltation when I see my lord.”

 

6. That faith is no other-worldly faith, but one that is driving for change here and now. She talked about working for justice in the 1960s, inspired by Rev Martin Luther King Jr., and about needing to continue that work, especially at the moment. “I’m thinking about going up to that White House,” she said, to the biggest cheer of the evening. Go for it Mavis!

 

7. Her five-piece band was everything you’d expect from long-time collaborators. Guitarist Rick Holmstrom treated us to a wonderful virtuosic display in a variety of styles, rewarded along the way by a fist bump from Mavis, and singers Donny Gerrard and Vicki Randel rounded out the sound, allowing Mavis to let her vocals soar with freedom.

A glorious, inspirational evening – keep going, Mavis, we love you!

Keb’ Mo’s Hot Pink Blues Tour at Union Chapel

Last month I fulfilled a long-time ambition and got to see Keb’ Mo’ in concert. He played Union Chapel in London. This is a very interesting location for a gig. It’s a quite lovely church building, with the pews set in semi-circular arrangement, a balcony and a high wooden ceiling. The acoustics are wonderful and wherever you’re seated you have a great view of the stage and are quite close to the artists.

It’s also a working church – it bills itself as “liberal, inclusive, non-hierarchical, and non-conformist.” The principle of its founders was to make Union Chapel a “Friend for All” – enshrined in the Chapel’s deeds and continuing at the heart of Union Chapel Church to this day. It has a thriving service to people who face issues of homelessness, mental health, isolation and crisis, which aims to help people with their long-term recovery.

If you come to a gig at Union Chapel, you can sign up for a meal beforehand at the Café attached to the church, which is run by the homeless project. This gets you a fine meal, allows you to contribute to the worthwhile work, and gives you the benefit of bagging your seat in the venue before the rest of the crowd is allowed in!

Waiting for Keb’. Union Chapel, London

So, all in all, Union Chapel is a great venue, and a packed audience welcomed Keb’ Mo’ and his band on their Hot Pink Blues tour enthusiastically. “I prayed before I came on stage,” joked Mo’ as he launched into Keep It Simple and then got the audience rocking with Am I Wrong. This small group of top-notch musicians comprising Casey Wasner on drums, Stan Sergeant on bass and Michael B. Hicks on keyboards, and of course Keb’ Mo’ who is a fine

Stan Sergeant

guitarist, were tightly knit throughout and rocked us soulfully through the eighteen songs of the set. The band supported Mo’s singing and guitar playing beautifully throughout, but now and then were able to give full rein to their individual talents – we got a fantastic bass solo from Sergeant on More Than One Way Home, for example, and then each member of the band sang a chorus of The Door, talented soulful singers, every one of them. The whole band seemed to really enjoy playing together and their enthusiasm was quite infectious, with the audience growing more and more appreciative as the evening wore on. By the end the whole crowd was on its feet baying for more.

Keb’ Mo’ played a variety of guitars throughout the evening, including a steel resonator and a very cool looking green Gretsch. He’s a fine guitarist and we got plenty of opportunity to savour this during the evening. He’s also a great singer and song-writer and, in a kind of understated way, commands the attention of his audience. But this is largely because of the high standard of the musicianship, rather than anything else. Keb’ Mo’s is honest music, as the blues tend to be, dealing with life and love, unpretentious, but aspiring to high standards of musicianship. It’s music that draws you in, warms your heart and sends you away with a broad smile on your face.

Although I was disappointed not to hear a favourite of mine, Life Is Beautiful, we did get the fun Shave Yo Legs – fun, yet making a serious point. “You don’t need no fancy tricks, Painted eyes or glossy lips; You don’t need to change your dress, You don’t need to change your shoes; You don’t have to clean my house, You don’t have to wash my clothes; Go ahead be wild and free, ‘Cause you don’t have to shave yo legs for me.”

This is a great song in a genre of music that has plenty of sexist lyrics, where we find women blamed for the misfortunes of men, objectified or the subject of physical abuse. Remember Robert Johnson’s Me and the Devil Blues, where Johnson is “goin’ to beat my woman until I get satisfied?” Or Big Bill Broonzy’s When I Been Drinkin’, with “I’m lookin’ for a woman that ain’t never been kissed, Maybe we can get along and I won’t have to use my fist”.

Leaving aside the violence and discrimination that women throughout the world face, Mo’s song addresses the pressure that our society puts on women to conform to certain stereotypes of looks, dress and body-shape. In a fun song, he coaxes men to give up any outdated expectations they may have that the women in their lives should have to look after their homes or try and emulate the unrealistic images of women on the billboard ads. Good for you, Keb’.

One last thing – Mo’ is now 64. What? He looks an athletic 40 year old. And he seems to live in the music and to enjoy every second of his performance. I’m hoping it’ll not be long before he’s back on this side of the Atlantic.