Opening the night was JSBX, who initially looked a little misplaced among the pristine and orderly interior of the Royal Festival Hall. No doubt their fans, who are probably more at home in sweaty, cramped venues and not at all used to being shown to seats by ushers with torches, felt a little alienated. The Solomon Burke fans - who didn't quite know what to make of Jon Spencer leaping around in leather trousers playing his unique brand of blues-infused punk rock - definitely had the edge in numbers accounting for the definite absence of atmosphere at the beginning of the night.

Still, despite this, their dynamic sound soon filled the hall in a captivating fashion. The lighting was used to full advantage preventing their tiny physical presence from getting lost on the vast stage. The subtle use of strobing provided an almost filmic visual experience, and one that was accompanied by an electrifying soundtrack that lent itself perfectly to the superb acoustics of the Royal Festival Hall.

What makes JSBX truly special, though, is their ability to seamlessly switch between wild, animated punk rock and laid-back sultry blues. It was a fluent set which climaxed nicely with a flawless rendition of She Said, taken from the latest album Plastic Fang.

Of course it was the next act that the majority of the audience had come to see. Former 1960s Atlantic Records stalwart, Solomon Burke is enjoying a comeback thanks to a new album, Don't Give Up On Me, and his welcome couldn't have been warmer. Entering the stage wearing a regal robe and taking his position on a throne on centre stage (tongue firmly in cheek), it was clear that Solomon Burke was the king of this show. The man was not only in control of his eight-piece band but also had the audience eating out of his hand.

It's not a great surprise that when Burke is not making music he is a preacher in charge of his own church in the US, with a congregation of 40,000 because there was something very evangelical about his performance. Not just through his authoritative presence but also through his thoroughly seductive voice, which is more than a match for the soul legends who he has outlived. His new material was not particularly memorable or fresh, but it didn't matter. With his voice he could have been reciting the alphabet backwards and people would still have listened all night.

The highlight of the set, however, was when Jon Spencer and his band returned to the stage to join Burke and his musicians. For the first time the audience was truly united and the atmosphere leapt several notches up the Richter scale. And just as things looked like they couldn't get stranger, Jools Holland joined the mammoth jam session. With little Jools tinkering away in the corner, a harpist looking like an angel who'd gatecrashed hell and pencil-thin Jon Spencer perched on the throne of King Solomon, this was definitely a sight to behold.

Sadly this was the most unified that the night ever felt. Half the audience swiftly fled after Burke's set, missing the second part of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. But with both acts displaying not only a respect and passion for each other but also a wide range of musical genres and an exceptionally high standard of musicianship, Solomon Burke and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have much more in common than Burke's fans sadly realised.

  share with:  Facebook | Digg | other sites