Blues singer and guitarist extraordinaire Samantha Fish paid a visit to the Soul Kitchen in Mobile, Alabama on Nov 17th. Due to Covid-19, there have been very few musical acts touring so when I saw she was playing only an hour away I jumped at the opportunity. Jonathon âBoogieâ Long joined her on the bill for the night. A lot of people associate Blues with BB King, Beale St, and BBQ. However, when I hear Blues the first thing that comes to my mind is face-melting. This was a night filled with face-melting.
Most of the advertisements for this concert did not mention the opening act. It took a lot of web surfing to find out that Baton Rouge native Jonathon Long was the opener. When he walked out on-stage sans band and sat down on his stool with only an acoustic guitar in hand, my expectations were pretty low. However, this changed quickly as soon as he started hitting those guitar strings on his version Chris Thomas Kingâs âJohn Law Burned Down the Liquor Stoâ.  Little did I realize that I was listening to one of the best guitar players around.Â
Most of the set was acoustic and pure blues. Long related how his manager, who is also Fishâs manager, called him on Tuesday and asked if he wanted to play a live show on Saturday. However, he was told he had to play acoustic guitar. He sure gave that guitar a workout. You could hear the strings screaming while he shouted out the blues.
Towards the end of the set, he gave the crowd a treat with some slide guitar played on a Cohiba 3-string cigar box guitar, shouting vocals to his song âCatfish Bluesâ.  Before the song, there were chants of âBoogieâ from the crowd.  I left the night impressed with Longâs guitar playing and vocals. My only disappointment was that it would have been nice to see what he could do with a Fender Telecaster in hands. Maybe Iâll find out next time.
This was the third time I have seen Fish perform during the last 12 months. The previous two times were in front of a filled house. However, on this night due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was a smaller, more intimate crowd.Â
Fish started the night with the edgy âBitch on the Runâ from her Wild Heart Album playing her favorite white Gibson SG Standard. As usual, I was blown away by her prowess on the guitar and sensual vocals. Fish routinely rotates through several guitars during her shows. However, on this night she spent most of the night on her SG occasionally switching to her Fender Jaguar and Delaney. One of the benefits of being in the photo pit is seeing Fishâs guitar skills up close. Itâs amazing how her fingers glide across the fretboard.
Fish sang and played her way through fourteen songs during the night. The songs spanned through her albums Wild Heart, Chills & Fever, Belle of the West, Kill or Be Kind, and Black Wind Howlin. Fishâs performance was characterized by sultry vocals and amazing guitar breaks. At the end of the night, Jonathon Long joined her on stage for her songs âMiles to Goâ and âBulletproofâ. Fish pulled out her own cigar-box guitar for these songs.
At the end of her set, she left the stage for a brief break. The small but boisterous crowd chanted for her return. She took the stage once more, accompanied by Long, and performed âDonât Let It Bring You Downâ on her Gibson Firebird.Â
As a photographer, I am always looking to capture peopleâs emotions and expressions. This is why Fish is one of my favorite performers to photograph. Besides her stunning appearance, I know that I can count on her to put on an emotional performance with an abundance of face-melting opportunities. As usual, she did not let me down this night.Â
I talked to one lady before the show and she was excited to see Fish perform for the first time. She hadnât been to a show in almost a year like a lot of us. This was a perfect first show back for the current times. Towards the end of the 1920s, the airways were filled with positive and free-spirited Jazz. However, once the Great Depression hit it was hard to be positive with all the suffering, so the tone changed, and melancholy Blues became popular. Like that era, the Pandemic, loss of jobs, and racial tensions of 2020 donât seem like a time for cheerful, upbeat music. It is a period tailored made for the Blues and the show on this night matched the mood of a lot of us. Â
Samantha Fish Set List
- Bitch on the Run
- Kill or Be Kind
- Chills and Fever
- Wild Heart
- Donât Say You Love Me
- Either Way I Lose
- Highways Holding Me
- Gone For Good
- You Canât Go
- Black Wind Howlin
- Dream Girl
- Miles to Go (with Jonathon Long)
- Bulletproof (with Jonathon Long)
- Donât Let It Bring You Down (with Jonathon Long)
Post by Scott Raymer (Website | Instagram | Facebook)
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The post Photos l Review: Samantha Fish Face Melts in Mobile, Alabama appeared first on Concert Crap.
