Cocker is renowned for his soulful rasp and enthusiasm on stage and he did not disappoint a sell-out crowd of close to 5,000 fans by whipping up a storm of vocal sound that echoed down decades of pop music culture.
Perhaps he may be past his glory years but Cocker's aura still holds up extraordinarily well in the present-day musical context, which is shorn of artists who can transcend musical genres.
Bolstered by some very sharp guitar work from top session-man Gene Black and the twin keyboards of Nick Milo (ex Tower of Power) and the legendary hammond organ specialist Mick Finnigan (Hendrix, Frampton, Stewart) Cocker triumphed over the high humidity of the night as his powerful voice pitched in range from baritone to alto with a 90-minute set of hits that covered most of his 40-year career.
Unforgettable
At 67, Cocker may seem a shadow of himself at times, but he still had the exuberance and emotion to put on a truly unforgettable show. There were plenty of fine moments including Feeling Alright (Traffic), The Letter (Box Tops), You Are So Beautiful (Billy Preston), Leave You Hat On (Randy Newman) and three astonishing Beatles covers — Come Together, With A Little Help From My Friends and She Came In Through the Bathroom Window.
Cocker sings with a joyous sense of celebration reminiscent of the great Ray Charles and the Italian Zuccerro, that has the ability to leave you feeling exalted.
But he was clearly troubled by the humidity levels and was seen knocking back bottle after bottle of water , sometimes in the middle of a song. Cocker even joked at one point of time "excuse me I'm struggling a bit, maybe it's the air-conditioning or something. But I'm trying."
Try he did with a dynamic cover of the Lovin' Spoonful's hit Summer in the City, with seemed an appropriate reposte.
Anyone who checks their history books will find out that Cocker came to prominence with his blues-rock cover of With a Little Help From My Friends at Woodstock in 1969. Four decades on he showed that he can still punch it out with passionate sincerity.
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