Gladys Knight @ Festival Theatre, Adelaide 21/3/2024
There was certainly a lot of excited anticipation in the crowd to see the ”Empress of Soul” who turns eighty in May! However, the anticipation turned to frustration and some anger as time dragged on. After slow-clapping, shouts from around the venue, and even a few walking out, Gladys eventually hit the stage nearly twenty five minutes late, several people yelling out “and about bloody time too!”.
Was it worth the wait? Yes, it was! Gladys is looking amazing, exudes grace and energy and her voice is still outstanding. The three backup singers were pretty good (not great) and the seven-piece band were excellent. We didn’t see much of them though as Gladys was the only one in the spotlight for the entire performance, and everyone else mostly obscured. The sound mix for the first few tracks was a bit ordinary and we couldn’t quite hear the lyrics, but then it all came good and was perfect for the rest of the show.
She morphed so easily from energetic disco with a Nitty Gritty / Shake Your Body Down To The Ground medley into a soulful melody (sorry, don’t know the name of the song) then to the James Bond Licence To Kill theme song. Her voice sounded so sultry when she sang one of her favourite songs I Don’t Want To Know.
The pace picked up again with I’ve Got To Use My Imagination and a superb rendition of I Heard It Through The Grapevine. She enjoys interacting with the audience both during and between songs, but not overdoing it. Her emotional side came to the fore again with Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye).
She told us how life is something amazing and something that can change the world and every single person. Her story became a beautiful segue into an emotion-charged cover of Barbra Streisand’s The Way We Were. Gladys was then joined by the backing singers – yes, a short stint sharing the spotlight – for Stand and Take Me To The King.
The lady next to us said, before the show, that she would scream if Gladys didn’t sing Midnight Train To Georgia – thankfully that was the next song! During the final chorus, came something I’d never seen before, an intro at the end of a gig where a guy came onto stage and announced “ladies and gentlemen, let’s give it up for the incomparable Miss Gladys Knight…”. And that was the end of the show!
This started more grumbling as people exited the venue. She had been on stage for a shade under seventy minutes, and I heard many people say they expected more. You couldn’t fault Gladys while she was on stage – great voice, energetic, friendly banter with the crowd.
Live Review By John Glennie