Bobby Womack lived up to all expectations vocally in the first half, when he showcased The Bravest Man in the Universe with his collaborators, including Damon Albarn.
As this was quite a laid back affair it was an exciting start when he commenced the second half with 110th Street and followed shortly afterwards with Harry Hippy. But with more instruments and vocals to contend with than the first half, the sound quality badly let down the overall performance. Whether this was down to the venue (The Forum) or Bobby Womack's tour organisers, or both, I'm not sure. But when he was speaking (which he did quite a bit as a form of song intro) we couldn't hear a word he was saying in the balcony.
It was a shame too, that as the second half progressed he fell more into ad-libbing over his backing singers who were often doing more actual singing (a bit too Mariah for my liking). Songs became fairly unrecognisable. Also the band, whilst good, were allowed to ramble and improvise and the whole felt a little disjointed.
I once saw Al Green sing acapela at the Royal Albert Hall, without a mike, instruments or backing singers. It was mesmerising. I would have liked to have heard the same from Bobby Womack. I know he has the talent, it just didn't come through this time. A little disappointing.