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Sharon Jones @ Amoeba Hollywood- Dec. 3rd, 2008

By Chris Morris

            Like a pint of unstable nitro, Sharon Jones is a mess of dynamite in a small package. The diminutive, high-energy soul singer ripped up a large, enthusiastic crowd at an in-store performance at Amoeba Hollywood with her Brooklyn-based band the Dap-Kings on Monday, Dec. 3.

            Jones is the First Femme of Fantabulous Funk at the moment. The vocalist’s third Daptone Records album, 100 Days, 100 Nights, showcases her formidable old-skool soul chops and the powerful licks of her magnificent eight-piece group (led by writer-bassist-producer Bosco Mann), who garnered lots of attention earlier this year when they served as the backup band on much of English soulstress Amy Winehouse’s breakthrough album Back to Black. Jones’ rippin’ Amoeba appearance served as a warm-up to her sold-out Dec. 4 gig at the El Rey.

            The Daptone label is dedicated to keeping traditional soul and funk sounds alive, and the Dap-Kings opened their Amoeba stand with a nod to grand master James Brown with a blazing funk instrumental that had heads nodding and booties shaking from the git-go. Then, just like back in the day, it was “Star Time,” and guitarist Binky Griptite introduced “the superbad soul sister.”

            Jones detonated immediately with a bold run-down of “How Do You Let a Good Man Down?” from her second Daptone album Naturally. Standing well under five feet, she projected a fired-up Goliath-sized personality, howling and prowling the boards, making a glorious noise with her outsized, horn-like voice and leaping across the stage in her gold high-heeled pumps. Nobody in the house could suppress a grin.

            “I need some background singers,” the irrepressible singer proclaimed, leading the audience through a little “oo-hoo” figure to punctuate “Nobody’s Baby,” from the new album. She concluded the number by noting drily, “You cannot buy records and sing at the same time.”

            After slamming through a git-down version of Woody Guthrie’s anthem “This Land is Your Land” (heard on Naturally), Jones introduced “Be Easy,” and called a towering fan, at least a foot-and-a-half taller than she, up on stage to serve as her foil and dance shyly with his miniature partner, as the Dap-Kings horns executed synchronized steps behind them.

            Jones wrapped up her 40-minute shot with a high-watt rendition of “100 Days, 100 Nights,” blasting through the down-tempo section of her new album’s title track with throat-ripping abandon. And then, like every great soul singer, she exited the stage, leaving the joint in ruins and beggin’ for more.

            Lucky Amoeba shoppers scored complimentary copies of a two-disc limited edition CD, Daptone Records Remixed, which offers fresh takes on four of Jones’ nouveau classics. All that and a tremendous show – what could be funkier?
 

Chris Morris hosts “Watusi Rodeo” on Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles every Sunday at 9 a.m., and writes the bi-weekly column “Sonic Nation” in Los Angeles CityBeat. He like to refer to himself as “Soul Brother No. 2.”