With frontman Simon Meli now a nationwide household name after his appearance on The Voice, his band The Widowbirds now present themselves as Simon Meli & the Widowbirds. Make no mistake though, Meli hasn’t gone solo, this is still the same band.
Fresh of his TV success, this is the band’s moment in the sun, which perhaps why the five-piece named their national tour accordingly.
Unannounced support act Alex Bowen was a great surprise at the tour’s kick-off concert. With just his voice and an acoustic guitar this young man delivers his howling blue-eyed soul with a sincere passion that is to be respected and admired.
No wonder the talking in the audience lessened with each song, while the applause got louder and louder. A ballsy cover of Sam Cooke’s “ A Change Is Gonna Come” showed how this bluesy songwriter’s music is rooted in soul.
The Widowbirds kicked off with “Dust And Stone”, one of the more catchy songs of their debut album Shenandoah.
With Meli’s soothing voice he sounds like a mixture of Robert Plant and Chris Robinson, so it makes perfect sense the band performed cover versions of the charismatic singer’s biggest successes on The Voice; Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” and the Black Crowes-version of Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle”.
During these songs Meli is at his best as a singer and as a performer. Sure enough the band’s own material is good as well, but it’s not yet great which is a bit frustrating because with such a fantastic frontman, The Widowbirds have everything it takes to be great.
Meli’s voice demands dirty guitar riffs and a rhythm section that can pound, groove and pump like Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones and John Bonham used to. Widowbirds bassist Jan Bangma and drummer Ivan Gordon seem too timid to lay the solid foundation for their frontman’s voice to thrive upon. While guitarist Tony Kvesic plays great solos he is taking it easy on the rhythm guitars.
This might soon change however; according to a recent Tone Deaf interview with Meli, the Widowbirds have worked on new material with more riffage during their recent European Tour.
That sounds promising for the band’s future. In the meantime, the criticism of potential greatness not yet realised aside, The Widowbirds are definitely worth checking out live. And those who show up early enough to catch Alex Bowen get to hear two unique voices in one night.
