There isn't much I am able to say about this performance. The acoustics at St George's Brandon Hill are, as usual, quite excellent although sitting in the middle of row B we arguably miss out on the perfect listening position. My companion informs me that the Ticket Man had tried to give us seats in row H, which for future reference are probably the best seats in the house.
The obvious benefits of being right at the front are a close up view of some generous cleavage; a feeling of intimacy and the chance of real eye-contact; and hopefully the avoidance of the music being lost in reverb as happened when watching Roy Harper last year.
Susheela sings with her whole body, ably accompanied by her husband on various lovely guitars. The songs range from quiet and sorrowful through passionate and tense to joyful dance. Of course nobody actually dances, it is hard enough getting us to clap in time. She holds my gaze for a little too long as she squirms about the floor being the snake in the Jungle Book singing 'Trust In Me' and we are all pleasantly amazed by the tabla player who becomes the hero of the show, as tabla players often do. The sound is just too perfect in almost every way. In her quest to combine her Indian heritage with her British-Australian-Indian upbringing Susheela Raman helps me to feed my longing to return to Tamil Nadu, a place where I lived and a culture she grew up with.
The audience find it in themselves to clap in time as we beg for an encore, even more remarkable is the fact that the clap does not increase in speed, as is traditional. Perfect timing at last.
