A Blues-Rock Voice Fills an Uptown Movie Palace

Beth Hart works in blues rock, and she sings the way the genre asks for, closer to confession than performance. Ty Taylor joins her as guest singer for this date. The Riviera opened in 1917 as a movie palace and still carries the plasterwork and the balcony from that life. Hart moves between the piano and the front of the stage across a set, and the room is small enough that both positions read from the floor.

You come in off Racine Avenue into a lobby that has kept its original ceiling, then choose the floor or the balcony. The floor is general admission and standing, the balcony is seated and fills early. Bars run along both levels. The old palace acoustics hold a held note longer than a purpose-built rock room would, which suits a singer who works quiet passages as hard as loud ones. The crowd skews toward people who came for the voice.

The show runs on the evening of Saturday, September 19 at 4746 North Racine Avenue, a short walk from the Lawrence Red Line stop. Buy ahead. Balcony seats go first and the floor has no seating at all. Standing on the floor for a two-hour set is a real commitment, worth weighing against the balcony price. It fits people who want a singer working at close range in a room with some history, rather than an arena show.