Live: Sharon Jones — Today's Vintage
WHO: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
WHERE: Beacon Theater, New York City
WHY: Based on reviews aggregator Metacritic, Blender is responsible for the least favorable review of soul revivalist Sharon Jones's recent album, 100 Days, 100 Nights. According to writer (and resident James Brown expert) Douglas Wolk, 100 Days found Jones and her band "replicating the surface effect of Otis Redding ballads, New Orleans jams and Motown pop-soul down to the last tambourine rattle, but their material rarely goes deeper than nostalgic genre exercises." He's got a point: While the Dap-Kings are known for their treasure trove of vintage instruments and old-school recording techniques (Amy Winehouse hired them to play on her breakout album, Back to Black), their studiousness in the studio can sometimes feel like passionless mimicry. But the Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings live experience could never (ever) be described as as lifeless. In front of a sold out crowd, the former prison guard sang like a Grammy-winning Star, not an indie-label favorite who (according to a recent New York Times feature) still drives a Honda.
Jones is 52 years old, but we wouldn't fault a short-sighted balcony-dweller for pegging her at 26 — this woman moves like she's possessed by James Brown's itchy ghost. If anything, her voice — gritty, bluesy and wild — is the most obvious testament to her age: Whether funking up Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" or slamming doors on would-be paramours on "Let Them Knock," Jones has obviously lived (and lived with) every song she sings. And her rampant smiles, familial audience interactions and complete physical confidence went lengths to prove exactly how much she loves to be onstage. The references to past musical touchstones are constant and unavoidable when it comes to Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, but — live, especially — there's no doubting this crew's devotion to a hardworking, genuine style of entertainment that speaks to yesterday, today and, with any luck, tomorrow. Click the picture below to see more shots from the gig.
