Somewhere in West London …

August 27, 2014

I have many favorite artists. Most of you know about the heavy hitters on my list: Prince, Joni Mitchell, Ani Difranco, PJ Harvey, Tori, Tribe.

On that list as well is Kate Bush, and she’s making news because she performed her first concert in 35 years last night in London. It’s part of a 22 night tour there.

Allow me to geek out on this a little bit.

Kate Bush is the most radical artist in my music library. Radical, because of her musical phrasing and her relentless focus on staying true to her voice. The Dreaming and Never Forever are two of the best albums I’ve ever heard. (Some folks would say that those are her weakest records, which gives you an idea of how awesome she is).

I love that she took time off to focus on her family after the birth of her son. In my opinion, the time off strengthened her work. 2005’s Aerial is a love song to motherhood. She’s always been good at singing about different characters, but Aerial turned her focus inward and produced some really personal work. I also love, love, love (LOVE) 2011’s 50 Words for Snow, an engaging, powerful and challenging record.

It makes me happy to see her getting press. She’s really not a popular artist, especially in the US. This new tour, however, has surrounded Kate with a lot of buzz.

Fans are calling her new tour, Before the Dawn, a second coming. I am just glad that she’s in a space where she is allowing folks back into her wonderful stage show. I wore out my VHS copy of the Live at Hammersmith Odeon concert, because I’ve never seen anything like it before.

Kate mixes dance, theatre and song like no one else. And, judging from the reviews, Before The Dawn is a triumphant return.

Take a look at this wonderful Kate documentary, featuring Tori, Bat for Lashes, St. Vincent, Tricky, Elton John, Big Boi and others

KATE BUSH – The Kate Bush Story (2014 BBC Documentary) from Videodrome Discothèque on Vimeo.

And be sure to fill yourself up on some amazing Kate Bush songs: