From the moment she walked on stage at The Queen’s Hall Samatha Fish brought her recent album cover “Faster” to life.
Wearing the same pink leopard print suit her wavy peroxide curls began to shake and sway as if the sleeve was in animation. If Marilyn Monroe was fronting a rock n’ roll band and could play killer riffs while shredding on a white Gibson SG then this is it.
The audience had been waiting since March 2021 due to the pandemic for this one with Fish herself admitting an emotional crash after being forced to cancel a long run of international dates. It’s clear there’s no other place the musician would rather be than on the road doing “the American hustle”.
During opener Bulletproof, she lights up the room with her overdriven cigar box guitar. The amplified riff seems to have a life of its own as the primal sound and energy are let loose for a night no one will forget in a hurry. Her warm bluesy voice goes full throttle during Twisted Ambition as do her killer licks. When choosing a cover song it’s clear the Kansas-born musician selects carefully whether it’s War Pigs by Black Sabbath or Neil Young’s Don’t Let It Bring You Down, tonight she plays the latter with some aplomb.
On stage, she’s a full-on entertainer working up the crowd while delivering straight rock n’ roll during Bitch On The Run.
The band lock into a Jimi Hendrix Experience vibe during Black Wind Howlin’ reminiscent of Jimi’s glorious performance on the Happening for Lulu television show broadcast on BBC 1 in 1969. It’s a raw, loose, impulsive groove that sways and swings with stone-cold attitude. Samantha Fish is the real deal, there’s no hustle involved.
Like Ritchie Blackmore, she leaves the stage with the Edinburgh fans wanting more before a primal slice of the Delta blues and the return of the cigar box guitar during a cover of Bukka White’s Shake Em’ on Down.
