Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise
Gypsy Tea Room, Dallas, TX
October 20, 2002

review by: Alexander Washburn
Date: 10/23/02

Let's just say that for once, it may be have good that Robert Bradley is blind. This way he didn't have to see an audience barely topping out at 25 and barely moving to his booming voice and his bands' funk and blues rthyms. If Stanton Moore's (who will be in Dallas with Galactic at month's end) show is best covered on Sportscenter, then Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise live at the Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas wanna-be hip Deep Ellum could've been showed on C-Span.

It was on what used to be known as Armchair Reviews that I first heard of Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise (RBBS). After digesting a few good reviews, I decided to purchase RBBS' 'Time to Discover' and promptly claimed that if this record was not listed on anyone's "Best of" list for 2000 that it's as fraudulent as the Florida election process. Why am I quoting myself is beyond me?

Excited to see Bradley, I worried what kind of crowd he would draw. Dallas and Texas for that matter are not exactly cultural Mecca's. My worries about the crowd were calmed when I realized that there was no crowd. For looking around the audience, you could only see one other guy that lip sync to a few songs but that was it. One girl who could've been no older than 23 stood in front of the stage, looking straight up. Not sure if she wanted to go home with the blind, 50-plus year old Bradley with the gray hair or the guitarist who was a dead ringer for David St. Hubbins from Spinal Tap. Neither were good options.

Now, focusing on the music for a second. Bradley can sing. Damn can he sing! He doesn't move, he doesn't dance, he just stands there. Seeing this, you'd think the manager would've made a conscious decision based on the crowd to change the entire show around. It was up close and personal but Bradley played it like it was a sold out Madison Square Garden. Presenting his songs and band in a different way would've been more enjoyable for the audience and for the band (who can all see by the way). The other guitarist, who was described by Bradley as the best marijuana joint roller in the group actually tried to get the audience to sing along to the chorus of one song. The "white boys" as Bradley calls them are a good compliment to Bradley's vocals. They kept me moving as Bradley with the assistant of a stagehand was led backstage to probably get nice.

Overall, Bradley put on a good show for an audience who didn't appreciate it much. You tend not to feel sorry for the band but for the people of Dallas who once again missed out on one of the great talents to come along in a while. They just didn't get it. I did and for that, I'm grateful. Unless you got a World Series game scoring 21 runs, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Sunday night.