A concert I'd be fangin' to attend the entire summer, last Friday the gospel-R&B-soul-rock of Leon Bridges serenaded a massive crowd at Brisbane's The Riverstage leaving everyone in attendance basking in a surreal glow of spiritual awareness.
Arriving just prior to the main event (apologies to Glass Beams for missing their set; I'm told it was well received and converted numerous new fans judging from the chatter in the queue for the bar), the swell of humanity was hard to miss, The Riverstage environment (17 January) all but bulging at the seams as eager punters found the best remaining vantage points with the majority of the hill one, continuous blur of excited bodies.The in-between song hum of voices (for at least the first few songs at least) was akin to the noise you'd expect at a major sporting event; the intensity felt very real and it was awesome to see the vast majority of folks were of the younger persuasion highlighting the continued rebirth of soul and R&B artists 50 years after the genre's heyday.
A chic-looking man, Leon strode onstage up and over a mid-stage staircase dressed like he was direct from Atlanta circa 1964; it was the strut of a proud rooster evoking Sam Cooke vibes. The love calls from the crowd confirmed Mr Bridges has many local admirers too.
Image © Kalem Horn
The opening track, 'When A Man Cries' (the intro track of Leon's self-titled 2024 album – which would own the majority of the set list tonight) was the perfect song to weave an entrancing spirit across the crowd, Bridges' honey-soaked smoky vocals seemingly transcending time as the rolling, rumbling R&B gospel drew you in. . . the uncontrollable feels abounding throughout the audience.
The delightful rhythm & blues was maintained with another 'Leon' song, 'Panther City' evoking the spirit of summertime literally before the first 'big' hit of the night arrived with 'Coming Home' anthem 'Better Man' seeing the hill become even more lively, fans harnessing the feel-good vibes emanating from the stage for the first glorious crowd sing-along.
The stage was then illuminated with the classic Motown golden bars of white-hot light bathing the band in a pureness powering a playful R&B rendition of 'Flowers' (also from 'Coming Home'), and energising plenty of hip-shaking joy from punters.
Image © Kalem Horn
Arguably his biggest hit from 'Leon', the flamenco-guitar goodness of 'Laredo' wafted across The Riverstage intermingling with the pungent strains of mary jane before it felt like we'd been transferred via a time-warp to the 1960s, Leon sharing that 'Coming Home' was one of the first songs he wrote.
The classic jam saw the crowd take lead vocals across the chorus, an obviously delighted Leon beaming with pride witnessing the sonic power of one of his compositions irl on the other side of the world.
The love-in continued with Leon professing his love for Brisbane as he picked up his own guitar for the first time for the slow jam alt. country southern rock of 'That's What I Love' segueing into the glorious slow-funk of 'Never Satisfied' highlighting the impeccable selection of songs for this set ('Leon' seemingly a companion album to 'Coming Home' released almost a decade earlier).
Image © Kalem Horn
Having moved through some of his lesser-known hits, Leon made sure he kept the crowd onside, with the first of two Khruangbin covers arriving mid set with 'Mariella' landing, sending the attentive crowd into a ball of bliss, the sonic nirvana highlighted by the super crisp guitar lines creating a vibe soaked in buttery goodness.
The only song in the set from 2021 album 'Gold-Diggers Sound' followed, with 'Steam' maintaining the momentum before the second Khruangbin track of the night arrived, 'Texas Sun' witnessing the biggest crowd sing-along of the evening, the stage bathed in the glow of thousands of phones all capturing the transcendent moment, the pure radiance of the hillside choir creating unbridled euphoria.
This led to a trio of tracks from Bridges' 2018 album, 'Good Thing': 'You Don't Know', 'Bad Bad News' and 'If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be)', the rhythm leaning into disco-tinged funk, the upbeat feels maintaining the liveliness of the crowd.
A moment many were here for saw a rustic, dusty, bluesy rendition of 'River' that was quite different to the recorded version, yet the laid-back, chilled vibes were lapped up by the adoring crowd who cooed "take me to your river, I wannn-nna go," over and over, seemingly cleansing all souls in attendance.
The brilliant 'Peaceful Place' (from 'Leon') was the penultimate song of the set, its mesmerising rhythm flowing freely maintaining the loungey vibes 'River' had built before the brass, horn-heavy 'Smooth Sailin'' brought the main set to a close with a rambunctious finale.
Image © Kalem Horn
'Lisa Sawyer' saw Bridges return to the stage for a two-song encore, accompanied only by his guitar for a sublime version of the 'Coming Home' song, the soothing melody creating a crowd sway-along, those in attendance aware they were nearing the end of a magnificent live performance, greedily enjoying every note, savouring the old-timey feels Bridges and his guitar were creating.
Leon capped off a magical evening of live music with arguably his biggest hit, 2018's 'Beyond' (from the 'Good Thing' album) brilliantly capturing the spellbinding, soulful wizardry Bridges and his amazing band brought to The Riverstage throughout a thoroughly captivating set that left those in attendance radiating a joyful energy that was still buzzing the morning after (at least for this reviewer).
Bridges' music weaves in and out of lyrical drama, spoken truths and shared experiences, the authenticity of his songwriting so genuine even the goosebumps know it. Till next time Leon.
More photos from the concert.
