Charles Bradley At the Blind Pig

I first heard about Charles Bradley about a week before I saw him at the Blind Pig, when I discovered a youtube video of Bradley performing the song ‘Why is It so Hard’ with the Menahan Street Band. The sweat beads on the perfomer’s face as he belts about the hardships of trying to make it in America, his powerful voice channeling pastgospel and soul legends. Born in Gainesville Florida, Bradley ran away from home at the age of fourteen due to poor living conditions, and lived on the streets for two years until enlisting in the job corps and training as a chef. A recently released documentary  on Bradley’s life, called ‘Soul of America,’ follows Bradley’s story, describing how he endured extreme poverty, life-threatening illness, and the murder of his brother. In 1997, after moving back in with his mother in Brooklyn, Bradley began moonlighting as a James Brown impersonator under the moniker ‘Black Velvet’ in local clubs and bars, where until he was discovered and signed by Daptone Recodrs. Daptone is a label known for their retro-soul revivalism, signing and producing artists who celebrate the feel of funk and soul music from the 1960s and 1970s (such as the renowned Sharon Jones). Since his discovery, Bradley has worked with The Menahan Street Band, releasing several songs co-written by guitarist Tom Brenneck on Bradley’s debut album in 2011.

This past Thursday, Bradley played at Ann Arbor’s The Blind Pig with a seven piece backing band billed as his ‘Extraordinaires.’ Bradley arrived onstage after enthusiastic keyboardist MC appropriately hyped the crowd, and burst into an hour and a half long set.

The Extraordinaries consisted of a tenor saxophone and a trumpeter, who exhibited their restrained yet synchronized dance moves while generally leading the band, an enthusiastic funk keyboardist, who MC’d while Bradley exited for a costume change, and a typically languid drummer and subdued bassist exchanged meaningful nods with each other, and two guitarists. The band was tight and high energy, with the outstanding horn section dominating the backups in the style of Sharon Jones’s backing band “The Dap-Kings’. Bradley himself appeared older and smaller in stature than in the videos I had seen, but he gave a highly energetic performance, complete with dance moves and outfits that he may have retained from his James Brown impersonation. But while his stage presence was dynamic, Bradley’s voice was truly the star of the show, a force of nature whose sheer soul and power has led critics to compare Bradley to Curtis Mayfield and Al Green. Bradley’s voice was was powerful in the small venue, and he interspersed songs with some with abbreviated story-telling, occasionally declaring – gospel-style, while the bass and drums still pulsed at an instrumental break– that we were not his fans but his brothers and sisters, or urging us to all find true love. He seemed truly connected to the audience, touched by the screams and cheers of the packed venue, and the fans reciprocated, reaching out to touch the singer, shake his hand, and exchange words.

The performance was dynamic, high-energy, and touching. The first song I heard of Bradley’s, Why is It So Hard, was also the singer’s encore performance. Though I had interpreted the song as a response to the hollow reality of the American Dream, or an ode to the traumas of Bradley’s life, the energy behind his delivery was overwhelmingly positive.

The show ended when Bradley spontaneously jumped off the stage and into the crowd, the Extraordinaires pounding out the chorus as the divo made his way towards the back of the venue, hugging fans and shaking hands.