Concert Review: John The Martyr Brings NOLA Heaven To The Django
Life turns, and often we think it only turns bad. Yet, it can turn good, as well. Before John The Martyr, Bill Hudson was a guy singing on the subway for loose change, and now he has his own upcoming record, a NOLA band backing and admiring him, and fills crowds in exclusive jazz clubs like The Django. All he had to do was be in the right place and right time, i.e. the subway, to be discovered as someone that could transport any audience.
John The Martyr is 100% old school. Hudson sang classic Isley Brothers’ tracks to the glee of an audience ready and wiling to dance. Now, when I say dance you might think a light clapping and swaying, but I am talking dance-offs and actual choreography. People felt free to dance like they were stars in the sky rather than a bunch of work colleagues in a basement designed like a speakeasy. Hudson’s capacity to give life and sonically re-design a space into a celestial format had the crowd’s adoration, but he knew it was luck to have an audience give back the energy you give.
Maybe, it stems from his time singing on trains, but near the end of the night Hudson thanked he crowd for receiving and gifting back his good vibes. He said it with a genuine relief; like a man who knew he is only half of a relationship and is grateful to his partner for working her end. Yet, it was easy to support him. He goes into the audience and selects a few members to dance, sing, and laugh with as if they are family. Everybody cheers because those persons have been selected by John The Martyr to be apart of a show that is part New Orleans/ part Heaven. Think Mardi Gras Tuesday’s with an orchestra made of Archangels and a dance-floor made of clouds.
Horns and violins are what I hope greets me at the pearly gates or, at least, plays while I am turned away from them. Yet, seeing the band go wild in improvisation and sheer spotlighting of these instruments’ power was more intoxicating than the room full of cocktails. It was as if Hudson and the instruments had a hidden competition over who could strike a pitch and move a person more. Hudson wailed and cried notes as if God could pull the teeth from your soul, and he emanated classic Motown tracks for their romanticism, biting fun, and pain. After all, that is what life is about: turning rough trials into spiritual triumphs. For More Information On John The Martyr Click Here.
