Live Review: Jill Scott

On her first Australian tour since the release of her breakthrough album, Who Is Jill Scott? (13 years ago!), Jill Scott had her fans in anticipation of the enigmatic lady's 'debut' show. The thing about expectations is they can either lead to something out of this world or a whole lot of disappointment. Luckily, in this case, Ms Scott was nothing short of amazing.
Local DJ Brett Costello opened the night, playing for the first hour and a half. We heard from Musiq Soulchild, Prince and the Sugar Hill Gang, all of whom got the growing crowd dancing away in preparation for the main event…
And then it happened. The vivacious Jill Scott took the stage backed by her six-piece all-male band and Pipes, her back-up singers (also all male, and vocalist extraordinaires in their own right, for those not in the know). Opening with her hit, It's Love, the eclectic performer had her crowd swooning before she even began performing from her back catalogue of hits. One thing that stood out about this show was its intimacy. Given that the venue is on the smaller side it's an aspect that's somewhat inevitable but an added bonus was Jill Scott's level of engagement with her audience.
Pausing between tracks to speak to her fans showed that she cared and genuinely wanted to them. Conveying messages such as “There is no one immune to getting their feelings hurt,” and “Sometimes it's not them that fucks it up, it's you,” showed she was as real as she seems to be in her music. It was a nice touch. Her voice is simply flawless live. Scott changed pace from the mellow A Long Walk and Gettin' In The Way to the more up-tempo So In Love and Hate On Me with ease. An a cappella version of Quick showed off her well known poetic skills, before leading into a faster, piano-backed version of the same track. All of which was played out effortlessly.
Closing with an encore performance of one of her biggest hits, Golden, was a welcome gesture. Performing a second encore had her adoring fans falling in love all over again. This show was nothing short of incredible. An experience like this comes but once in a lifetime and those that were fortunate enough to have attended will know exactly what that means.