Beth Gibbons at The Orpheum Theatre was more than just a showcase of new music, it was a showcase of a new Beth Gibbons for all Los Angeles to enjoy. When you think Beth Gibbons and Portishead, you think of a specific sound. An elevated, urbanized jazz that pairs well with a Bond movie, maybe, or you think of the trip hop moniker developed by her band and other English groups like Massive Attack. Beth Gibbons’ solo work, and especially her 2024 album Lives Outgrown doesn’t so much as develop on the song she help originate and cultivate though, it outgrows it with a new evolution in her artistry that includes influences from folk, psychedelic, medieval, and world music sensibilities. Driving to the Orpheum theatre on a drowsy Thursday evening, her new album gave my trip a surreal feel, making each beat of time pass by with more meaningful reflection, and each tree outstretching over the freeway walls more tranquilizing with the nature-vibes captures on songs like “Floating on a Moment” or my favorite on the album, “Whispering Love”. Skimming through the tracklist now and looking back on the show, I see both as a statement on identity, lost and found, and sort of trying to make sense of yourself after so many years creating art in the spotlight. As she found out throughout this performance, Beth Gibbons’ relevance hadn’t wained since the last time she performed in LA. In fact, her absence only made people demand to hear her more.
Of all the trip hop bands, Portishead had the most prestige. It was sultrier, more sensual and tender, and fit a sort of English elegance that could be adapted to scenes from the lowest to the highest levels of society. I personally think of Beth Gibbons as an elevated jazz singer, thrust into the worlds of rock and roll and hip hop to create massive change in both genres with her sound. The sound that defined her was not the sound that she dwells upon while onstage for her performance on this tour, though.
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As blue lights covered her from head to toe, often hiding her from the audience, the person behind the sound was harder to make out than other artists I’ve enjoyed from her generation. Beth lets the music speak for her, and what the music is saying is that there’s so much more here than merely romance and nostalgia. “Lives Outgrown” is more of a spiritual trip actually, one that connects the listener to the forces of nature and the spirituality that fuel them. Songs like “Beyond the Sun” felt downright mythological. Other songs are stripped down to their basics, folk acoustic guitars that border on American gothic or country, depicting at least life on the country-side, where things are simpler than where people find themselves.
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To me, this album and her show were all about self discovery by losing yourself. By masking herself with light and music, Beth Gibbons forced us to go looking for her in the lyrics and sound, and what we found was so multidimensional that it transceded the trip hop bangers she closed the show with after her encore. Those bangers in question, Roads and Glory Box, were met with such a massive uproar of cheer and feelings, they almost took people’s minds off the intimate details of the sound. Whereas with her solo work, every audience member was completely tuned in to hear every note as if under a microscope.
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It was a beautiful show that made an ordinary Thursday night feel more dramatic and sensual. Those in attendance knew they had been blessed with a rare treat, Beth Gibbons past, present, and the mystery of the future.
Here’s Beth Gibbons’ setlist from the night:
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Tell Me Who You Are Today
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Burden of Life
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Floating on a Moment
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Rewind
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For Sale
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Mysteries(Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man cover)
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Lost Changes
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Oceans
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Tom the Model(Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man cover)
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Beyond the Sun
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Whispering Love
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Roads(Portishead song)
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Glory Box(Portishead song)
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Reaching Out
Words by: Rob Shepyer
Photos by: Jessica Moncrief
