Non-Stop Touring:
Samantha Fish returned to Edinburgh for the first time in a few years as part of her latest UK tour. This was in fact the last of the shows in the run here. This was her ninth show in nine days. That is a heavy schedule, not only for someone who is a guitarist but one who also is a vocalist. How would her voice hold up after all that? Also, how would the onstage energy levels be after hitting city after city for 9 days? Having been lucky enough to have seen Samantha a few times now, I knew how much she puts into a performance. She has always been a great performer as well as guitarist and singer and seems to get better as time goes on. I had high expectations. So did she meet them? Here are my thoughts.
Natural Emotion:
The band came onstage just before 21:10 and opened with the old MC5 classic “Kick Out The Jams“, kind of setting the parameters for what they planned to do. As for Samantha‘svoice, well her unique and beautiful vocal phrasings and improvisations near the end of the song were bloody stunning. No worries about 9 nights in a row then. During the course of her set, she regularly had moments where she did solo vocal lines, sometimes with words and sometimes with “ooohs” or “aaahs” where she showed her range and power to great effect. She is one of those singers that actually doesn’t even need words to convey a message, her emotion comes out naturally. “Wildheart” followed after a quick “hello” from Samantha and it was a stomper of a version. The drumming was almost tribal, really heavy and full-on. I did like the clever way she exited that into the next song “Better Be Lonely“. She did some vocal phrases after folks had cheered for “Wildheart” and it looked like they were going back into it (I thought they were at least) and she turned it around into the next song. Caught some of us off guard that is for sure. The way she went from a pretty heavy blues track to a more pop-orientated track (how it wasn’t a hit I have no idea) was first-class. “Lonely” has such a sweet melody and Samantha sounds all sultry on it. Like much of her material, it grooves nicely but even though it was a tad heavier than the recorded version it was still basically a pop song.
Having Fun With The Locals:
Before starting the next song Samantha had a little fun with the crowd as always. She has difficulty in saying the name of the city correctly. She asked us all to shout it out for her which plenty of folks did (to those who are unaware the locals pronounce it “Edinburra” which confuses folks who don’t know and makes it hard for people who cannot roll their letter R). This is one of the things that makes Samantha so much fun, that interaction and working with an audience, she is interested in the places she plays. Makes each night unique. On “Kill Or Be Kind” the keys take the lead. When the guitar comes in it sounds darker and has an almost ominous feel to it. There is some fine interplay between vocals and keys on this. With a powerful slide guitar solo as well, this was a different listen to the recorded version. They moved seamlessly into “Watch It Die” where we got 2 guitar solos, one light and airy and the other heavier and more intense. This was proving to be a heavier and more guitar-led show than the last couple of tours. Lots of improvisation and power guitar work.
Rocking All Over The Stage:
Of course, Samantha and her band can switch things up easily as they did by going on to play “Chills And Fever“. We were told that this was our “chance to shine” as an audience, that being the first song that we were encouraged to sing along with the chorus including on our own (with musical accompaniment, just no one on stage singing). Edinburgh duly took the chance and sang lustily along. The change of pace was accompanied with some lovely keyboard soloing from Mickey Finn. From there they went back to a more rocky sound for the next 2 songs, “Bulletproof” and “Miles To Go” with Samantha on box guitar. The first had an instantaneous response with hands in the air clapping along and the latter had Samantha rocking all over the stage headbanging, throwing herself around having an absolute blast. What makes that even more impressive (at least to me) is that she was doing so in large heels. I wouldn’t have been able to stand in them never mind run around. Not sure “health and safety” would have been impressed, but I was!
Being Blown Away:
After all that energetic rocking the pace was slowed down again as Samantha stood on the stage alone, acoustic guitar in hand doing a solo spot. The song “Jim Lee’s Blues” also allowed for some audience participation. Samantha joked first that we should join in if we can clap on “the 2 and 4 beats” and if we couldn’t then “please don’t” causing a few laughs. The crowd started quite well but some definitely lost their way later on. It was amazing she wasn’t put off completely! The band then re-joined her onstage for the rest of the night. “Someone’s Always Trying” was brilliant. At times sultry in vocal delivery and at others sassy but at all times with a hint of danger in her voice as regards to messing in her love life. Some of the soloing on this was off the charts, what a guitar performance. The drop-down in the middle was superbly done. As for her vocal delivery on this, her voice was as strong as at the start. Some improvisations on her own holding the crowd’s attention completely. You could have heard a pin drop. I was blown away on this.
Bewitching:
“Poor Black Mattie” even had Samantha throw in a line or 2 about Edinburgh causing cheers. She asked at the start if we “like to move and dance” and from my vantage point upstairs it seemed quite a number of locals were up for that. Samantha led the way moving around the stage working all of the front area of the stage. There was another change of pace as the band moved into the old song “I Put A Spell On You” and without doubt, she had, as the crowd were totally bewitched by her and the band. So much soul and feeling, the way music should be. The main set ended with “Black Wind Howlin’” a song that has definite hints of Jimi Hendrix‘s”Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” in the main riff. This was a hard rocking blues workout, with loads of soloing with even bassist Ron Johnson joining her upfront and throwing down some lines. Samantha even left the stage to get right up to the audience at the fence whilst soloing like a woman possessed. She didn’t miss a beat either when she clambered back onto the stage.
Sharing The Stage With Others:
There was a short break for the audience to go mad trying to encourage them all back onto the stage whilst I am sure the band took a few moments to get some fluids onboard. Samantha also invited the guitarist and singer from the support on this leg of the tour to join the band onstage to jam. What was lovely was the way that she was not only happy to allow another performer to take the lead but she was actually encouraging him to play longer and to be showcased to the crowd. They then went on to having some fun winding each other up solo-wise. No arrogance here, just a musician with passion and decency wanting to support newer artists. Zac Schulze was obviously as happy to be there as the rest of us. Before the start of the song, Samantha said how much she loved our city and that she wished she could stay a few days longer to enjoy it. There was a little interaction between Samantha and someone in the crowd which caused some laughter downstairs, I think perhaps someone offered her accommodation and she gave a quick quip back to them. If anyone reading this heard what was said feel free to leave a note under the review. It seems she has quite a quick sense of humour to go with her other talents.
Can I Mention The Drummer?
I have never left a Samantha Fish gig without having had a good time and being impressed and this was no different. This show was definitely the most hard-rocking blues show I personally have experienced from her and I loved every moment of it. I haven’t mentioned the drummer and he needs his own acknowledgement. Jamie Douglas rocked like a madman all the way through. He hit hard when he needed to but could also do the more sensitive and gentle things to enhance songs. With his nonstop headbanging and grooving he was the human equivalent of Animal from The Muppet Show and I mean that as a compliment. What a fun performer to watch. Samantha and her band didn’t look or sound road weary from all those gigs along with all the travelling, they sounded fresh and energetic and wowed the crowd completely. Outstanding and expectations smashed!
High Energy Support:
Before I wrap up I do want to do a paragraph on the support themselves, The Zac Schulze Band. Opening and closing (just about) with tracks by Rory Gallagher and doing justice to both songs (“Laundromat” and “Messin’ With The Kid“) you can tell what this 3-piece are all about. High energy hard rocking blues. The set had a few covers as at this moment they only have one EP out but the songs from that EP didn’t sound out of place at all from the covers, in fact, the highlight of their set was an original called “Ballyshannon Blues” which was superb. The ending to “Dry Spell” showed the ability and tightness of the band as Zac did the old “give me time” thing, but he mixed it up with numbers almost out of a hat including half numbers which kept the rest of the band on their toes. It was a lot of fun to watch. One of the things I must mention is that during the first song, Zac had to change guitar due to an issue and it didn’t in any way throw them off their stride. In fact, before they played their new single “Woman” he thanked us for “sticking with us“. The band also comprise Ben Schulze on drums (his brother I presume) and Ant Greenwell on bass and lead vocals on original “Hole In My Pocket“. Definitely a band to watch out for. I am eager to hear more originals as the ones they have are good. In a small club, I think they might absolute slay. Hopefully, they will tour soon on their own. If they do, please go check them out.
Photos by kind permission of both Callum Scott and Gary Cooper.
Samantha Fish Official Website // Official Facebook
Zac Schulze Gang Official Website // Official Facebook
Check out my other articles and reviews here. Tom.
Great review Tom. Minor correction, it was 10 consecutive nights! It was my first time seeing Samantha Fish. It won’t be my last, I hope! I travelled over from Ireland, mainly because I’m addicted to the energy of the Zac Schulze Gang. I have seen them over 20 times at this stage and I think they will be huge. They have an album out soon which some of us can’t wait for! Oh, and they also happen to be three of the nicest guys you could meet!
Hi thank you for your feedback. Glad you enjoyed my review! I need to go back to school to learn to count to 10.
Fair play travelling over from Ireland, hope you enjoyed my home town!
As for Zac and the gang, I am very keen to see them live as a headliner. If their album has songs as good as the couple they played then I am up for it. Good to hear they are also great guys. Always nice to hear.
Thanks again and all the best to you.
Tom