You know it’s going to be a strange show when it begins with an a capella prayer from the ‘Church Of Nobody’ delivered by ‘Minister Beal’.
Playing an undeniably bizarre Falls Festival sideshow, Willis Earl Beal proved that he easily possesses one of the most unique and amazing voices going around at the moment.
The ever-brilliant Courtney Barnett opened the night, bringing her brand of raw, super-Aussie garage rock to an initially sparse, but constantly growing, Northcote Social Club crowd. Songs such as ‘Ode To Odette’, which Barnett performed solo, showcased her immense talents.
Featuring drawn-out, fuzzy guitars and confident, husky vocals, Barnett and her three piece band (dubbed The Courtney Barnetts) delivered an energetic and fun set to begin the night, ending with a short-lived ‘Wild Thing’ cover that merged into the fantastic ‘History Eraser’.
After a lengthy delay, the curtain was finally drawn, revealing the jacket and sunglass-wearing Beal to the now jam-packed crowd.
After quietly requesting for heads to be bowed, he launched into the aforementioned prayer, named ‘Blue Escape’, and with no backing music at all – it’s immediately clear that Beal’s voice is on another level, somehow both forcefully powerful and intensely intimate.
Following this, Beal proceeded to hit play on the backing track that would be a near-constant presence throughout most of the set, creating a somewhat strange atmosphere, with the Chicago musician seemingly rushed for time in between songs.
He is often softly-spoken to the point of being inaudible between songs, but when singing, Beal is in his own little world, pacing around the stage, screaming into the mic, twirling around a cape of sorts, and sitting down for extended periods of time.
He undoubtedly has a huge stage presence, at times towering over the audience, at others seeming to sing specifically to individual members.
His utterly sublime voice more than makes up for the oddity of the often distracting backing tracks: it’s unique, it’s powerful, and it’s infinitely passionate.
The uplifting ‘Come Through’ saw Beal improvising and imploring that ‘it’s going to be alright’, and when it’s sung by that voice, it’s easy to believe him.
When Beal finally stopped the backing track, he launched into standout number ‘Evening’s Kiss’, once again seated, with a guitar laid flat on his legs. It’s the emotional high point of the night, with the soulful singer pouring his heart out with every note.
Although Beal profusely apologizes for a handful of errors, “I fucked it up, I should play guitar with my feet”, it’s these sort of moments, these imperfections, that truly make a live show. Much more so than a backing track, and they certainly didn’t take anything away from the brilliance of the song.
Bringing the night full-circle, Beal once again resembles a minister for ‘Wavering Lines’, stating, “If you clap and stomp, your souls will be saved”.
The enthusiastic crowd was more than happy to oblige, creating a special, intimate moment where they contributed the percussion and subdued backing vocals, a remarkable turn that once again proved the talents of the young singer.
It’s obvious that as a performer Beal is very hard on himself, still annoyed at his barely noticeable guitar mistakes at the end of the night, asking everyone to “make me popular so I can come back and make up for it.”
After the a capella ‘Wavering Lines’, Beal quickly departs and it’s clear that the show is over far too soon, playing for only 45 minutes.
While hopes are still held for an encore, Beal nearly immediately appeared in the crowd at the merch stand, more than happy to meet the adoring fans, and going a long way in making up for the length of the set.
With a truly amazing voice – one that cannot be fully replicated via recording, it must be seen in a live setting – Willis Earl Beal has nothing to make up for, but he may well become as popular as he wishes anyway.
