Samantha and her tight-ass band turned up in sleepy Norwich on a dull damp October Monday evening and blew the place to pieces. I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen her perform live previously but this performance left me a little shell-shocked at just how much further she has streaked ahead.
WORDS: Stephen Yourglivch IMAGES: Laurence Harvey and Paul Hampson
Samantha has always been a shit hot guitarist but tonight her playing was stratospheric, and her vocals have gone to another level entirely, without doubt she is the full package. Bursting onstage with her version of MC5s Kick Out The Jams, Sam and her band gave us almost two hours of non-stop breathless blues of the highest order. We got fan favourites Wild Heart and Better Be Lonely early on lifting the feelgood factor instantly, other early highlights were Watch It Die and the sublime Chills And Fever. But with a Sam Fish show you get all kinds of blues, her playing of cigar box guitar on Bulletproof is out of this world phenomenal, no let up in the relentlessness whatsoever.
Then she straps on an acoustic to play the old Charley Patton number Miles To Go. Seeing Sam onstage alone at that point holding the large audience silently spellbound by her performing a 1930s old Delta blues so deftly is further evidence of the confidence and star quality she now possesses. Back to full electric blues mode for a couple of numbers before we get treated to some Mississippi Hill Country blues in the form of Po Mattie. RL Burnside would certainly have approved of Sam’s powered-up intensity. Dreamgirl and Black Wind take us swirling to the end of the show but fear not, the encore follows quickly and is worth admission by itself.
Sam plays a long superb rendition of Screaming Jay Hawkins classic I Put A Spell On You before support Zac Schulze joins onstage to swap licks and solos on another Hill Country classic, Goin’ Down South, I swear I felt ole RL looking down smiling broadly his gap toothed grin in approval. Special mention must go to Sams’s band, no histrionics, no fuss, just world-class musicianship allowing Sam to do her thing, so kudos to Mickey Finn (keys & Hammond), Ron Johnson (bass) and Jamie Douglass (drums).
Shout out too for Zac Schultze Gang for a top class support slot. A high-energy power trio with more than a nod to Rory Gallagher in style, they gave us a no-holds-barred blues rock barrage. There were plenty of covers, Rory Natch, Feelgood, Peter Green and a stomping Walkin The Dog but on the evidence of recent single “Woman”, we should look forward to an album of originals soon. They certainly are winning a stack of new fans on this tour and are the ones to watch.
