When spirituality comes to mind, it seems most often images and associations with well practiced religions such as Christianity and Judaism are the first to surface. With his thoughtful lyrics though, set to a musical style at it's most basic classified as a fusion of reggae and rock, Trevor Hall embraces a different meaning of spirituality. A prominently young audience gathered at the Soiled Dove Underground on Friday night to get an experience of Hall's inspiring live performance with a near two hour set that washed the crowd over with songs of love, unity, appreciation, and understanding.
Friday night's gig jump-started the tour for Hall and his band, bassist "Super" Mario and the extraordinarily talented percussionist Chris Steele, after multiple shows prior to Denver's were canceled due to the of loss of Hall's voice. In speech it was apparent that Hall's voice still required healing, while his vocal performance exceeded expectation, showing no signs of loss or sickness. Rising above and influencing his vocals was Hall's radiant attitude throughout the entirety of the show. Numerous times were songs cut into very briefly with small laughs and chuckles form Hall, his unique singing expression momentarily broken. One song found Hall lightly jumping off of the stage into the crowd with his guitar to jam and dance with the people, while "Om Shakti Om" brought Hall's father out on stage with the band, sharing a mic and singing alongside his song. The audience shared in laughter as Hall told the personal story behind the song "31 Flavors," and later shared more of a bonding moment as together everyone sang in repetition the chorus of "The Lime Tree," both with and without musical accompaniment. If it was no yet clear that each person was absorbed into the music, it became undeniable during a recital of one of Hall's new works in progress, the words complete but not yet put to music. The silence of the audience was impressive as not a soul stirred and the only sound was Hall's words. An encore solo performance of "Liquor Store" was met with the same stunning silence and avid attention as Hall sang along with his acoustic guitar. With such audience interaction and the power it lent to the atmosphere, it is no wonder Hall was all smiles. His already elated mood right from the start only fed off of the crowd, a true happiness showing on his face and in his performance.
Equal to the joy expressed in performance was the honesty and truthful meaning of Hall's lyrics and their presentation. The spirituality by which Hall apparently lives his life comes alive in his lyrics, the belief in them he holds exposed to the audience through his singing. Much of what Hall relates in his songs revolves around interests of peace, love, unity, and the likes. Ideas of togetherness and equality appear in his lyrics often times through the use of streams and rivers, as they are a part of each other, all of the same water. Other songs such as "Unity," written with reggae/rock musician Matisyahu, take a more face value approach to relating these ideas with the chorus "No more you and me, no more they an we, just unity." In nearly all of his lyrics does Hall touch upon these topics, bringing about that sense of spirituality. As the songs unfold though, it seems that the spirituality to which Hall speaks is not that in the Christian sense of God. Rather, through his words Hall brings about a sense of being at one with the world around him and appreciating and respecting it and its people for what they are. With this mind set, as it is expressed in "Internal Heights," Hall strives to "maintain internal heights" and live with an eternal high, one that never dies off. The happiness and passion with which Hall performed in balance with the truth he feels and tells in his lyrics, at the very least for this one night, brought the entire audience to that natural high. Being able to convey these expressions through his words and music, Trevor Hall stands as an inspiration to do all that you can in this world and live, and to learn to achieve that exhilarated love for life.
