I saw Samantha Fish at Daryl’s House for the first time. I had heard her name thanks to the Blues Hour on WBGO 88.3 out of Newark and the BB King Bluesville Station on Sirius Radio, but was unfamiliar with most of her work. She is of the new generation of female blues guitarist/singer/songwriter/band leader that have emerged in the last ten years—potentially a new Bonnie Raitt.

Fish has been traveling with a large band: Phil Breen (keys), Rebecca Crenshaw (fiddle), Alex Massa (trumpet, mandolin and acoustic guitar), Chris Spies (sax, flute and percussion), Chris Alexander (bass) and Scott Graves (drums). Quite the entourage. While Fish’s music is derived from the blues, the different instruments gave it other flavors. Their opening song, a rock blues number, also had an Irish and country sound; whenever the fiddle, especially when accompanied with the mandolin, was the dominant instrument the music had a hint of those styles. Whereas other songs with Fish’s soulful voice and the horn section, the song had a rocked-up R&B and soul feel to it. I love horns in a band, I think they give the music a real full sound, yet they have been shunned by bands for a long time.

Fish has matured since her earlier days when she was a rock blues guitarist doing covers, and has certainly developed her own sound. It’s still the blues, but it’s all her. The songs were geared to emphasize her singing style, which was emotional at times and very convincing, and she was no slouch with the guitar. She ripped it up as she shared solos with the other band members. She changed her instrument quite frequently and periodically played slide guitar, and played a small square guitar that instantly reminded me of Bo Didley’s guitar, but a much smaller body.

Most of the material was from Fish’s last two releases, but she did include a few older songs and did a cover of one country song. While most of the songs were rocking, she did slow it down on one or two songs when she picked up the acoustic guitar. I enjoyed the show and was impressed with Fish’s singing and playing. The band was a powerhouse in itself. Fish came out dressed in a multi-color patterned summer dress and tall boots, that reminded me of the late ’60s paisley style, and wiith her short hair and that dress I was reminded of Goldie Hawn from Laugh In. She did at least two songs that reminded me of the ’60s. On the rocking “Somebody’s Always Trying” it was just the mention of the word “boyfriend” and the basic message of the song reminded me of The Angels with “My Boyfriend’s Back” and other similar songs from that era. That was the only similarity, but it’s funny what triggers a memory. The other was the song “Chills and Fever,” and the way the song flowed, I kept asking myself What the hell does this remind me of? It finally came to me, it was from the movie Pulp Fiction, when John Travolta dances with Uma Thurman to Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell.” Again, not that similar, but that’s how the brain works.

Fish may know something about how the brain works: The place was packed with obvious fans. (I may have been the only one there who was not familiar with her.) A mixed age group, they were loud, having a great time, and the men were falling all over each other to get a picture with Fish after the show.

—Glenn Bohan