Review and Photography : Stephen Brophy for MPM
Having been a fan of Samantha Fish for a number of years now and having admired Jesse’s work with some of the very best musicians of their generations, and lets be honest you don’t get to work with the likes of Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson unless you are a top class musician yourself.
Tonight we get the opening show of the UK/Ireland leg of the Death Wish Blues Tour and Samantha’s first Irish show.
To open the show I’d love to tell you the artist, but he only forgot one thing and that was to mention his name.
But he warmed everybody up really well with a solo performance, just vocals and guitar and a range of songs across the Blues spectrum, soft vocal delivery which suited his style and although his loop box stopped working early on he managed to illicit many sounds from his guitar changing tone and volume to enhance parts of certain tracks, everything from Larry Davis to really nice version of Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman”, very well done and put together after only getting the call a few hours previously to do the show. Will keep an eye out for him again and he got a really good reception when the set finished.
Now onto the main event and the crowd has swelled dramatically through the support set and intermission between acts, which is great to see. As Jesse, Samantha and the band take to the stage the atmosphere is already tingling with excitement. To set the scene a little, tonight is going to be their album in full with a couple of additional songs from last years Stardust Sessions EP, solo songs and a few covers outside the scope of the album/ep which made for a terrific mix, blues, rock, country, boogie, lots of Southern flavour, whatever floats your boat.
The new album songs are introduced by Samantha, after a slight stumble, as being their Duets, but to me these songs are more than that, and they come alive so much on the stage, it’s like they were meant to create music together, there is a tight fit here, a great musical bond, the guitar and vocal styles mesh perfectly live while both get to take the center stage at times with solos or vocally, it’s a real joy to be a part of a night like this.
When they break out the acoustic guitars I’m not always sure if breaking the flow is a good idea, but for this show it’s perfect, both have a mutual admiration of Townes Van Zandt and the acoustic cover of “I’ll Be Here In The Morning” is both superb and moving, swapping sections with Samantha’s higher vocal and Jesse’s lower tone before they both come together to elevate it even further, no doubting this is a crowd favourite.
The country Blues of “Baby’s Long Gone” also went down really well before they brought back out the band and switched back to electric guitars, must also mention that the tone and sound of both guitarists were brilliant, there was something slightly off for a couple of minutes with Samantha’s acoustic, but it soon resolved itself.
Samantha’s vocals are simply off the scale at times during the show, as usual a very knowledgeable Irish crowd appreciate the singing, guitar playing and excellent songs on show tonight. Personally I got lost in “No Apology” which is one of my favourite tracks from the Death Wish Blues album and just wow on how she closed out the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins classic “I Put A Spell On You” the high notes she held were terrific and just when you thought the song was over she smashed out another unaccompanied ending, were it a seated gig I’m sure the crowd would have all been on their feet, as it was the applause rang out and Ms. Fish was obviously touched saying that the reaction made it feel like this show was her Birthday. Fingers crossed they will be back soon either together or individually, pretty sure both made some new fans tonight in Dublin, it’s very easy to see and hear why.
The Button Factory stayed full to the end of the show on a very wet and quite miserable night outside, which is a testament of how much people were looking forward to this one. The band left the stage briefly but I don’t think there was any doubt they would be back out for an encore and we got two more songs to sadly bring the night to a close, the wonderful ballad “You Know My Heart” and the powerhouse cover of R.L. Burnside’s “Goin’ Down South” that turns a Mississipi Delta Blues standard into a raging Blues Rock monster. As with so many brilliant shows, this one flew by all too quickly, but I can still vividly remember songs and different points in the show where something was played or done, I think it will remain in my head for a long time.
When two musicians who swim in different style pools come together to create something new without putting any borders around it or limiting it, there are two directions it can go, it can be overambitious and never achieve what they are trying to do, or it can be like this and create a new sound, a different yet complimentary collaboration.
The album took me a couple of listens to get into, but from then on it has just grabbed me and did not let go, but hearing those songs live is on another level completely. An absolutely cracking show from a couple of the most talented musicians around, that have managed to make something that fits like a glove for both, really hope that they manage to make another album when their schedules allow. If you get a chance to hit any of the UK shows please do, it will be most definitely worth your effort. When it’s this good definitely a night not to be missed.
NEW DATE JUST ANNOUNCED!
AT LONDON’S LEGENDARY 100 CLUB, OCTOBER 30, 2023
TICKETS ON SALE 10AM FRIDAY MAY 26
VIA ALTTICKETS.COM AND GIGANTIC.COM
TICKETS FOR ALL CONCERTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM
www.alttickets.com/samantha-fish-tickets
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www.ticketmaster.co.uk
www.samanthafish.com/tour
www.jessedayton.com
