We have been lucky to see Samantha Fish several times, and every time she seems to get better and better, and the crowds keep getting bigger. When she strides onto the Town Hall stage she was met with a roar, because everyone knows they are in for a great night, and we were.

On tour supporting her latest album, ‘Paper Doll’, and a cracking album it is, dressed in black leather she looks like what she. is a rock chick with magic in her fingers. Obviously, the set focused on the newer stuff, but she likes to throw in a couple of stunning covers, like, ‘Kick Out The Jams’, a 1969 MC5 number, which she opened with. Stoking the big crowd up, it was followed by title track’ Paper Doll’, with a slight bluesy feel, complete with the first of tonight’s blistering solos, much to the crowd’s delight. Changing to her cigar box guitar for the brilliant, blues rocker, ‘Bulletproof’, the pace never really let up. She has a swagger to her vocals and performance, which is intoxicating, but when she lets rip, she lets rip. Not too over dramatic, just someone who is fully immersed in the moment. And just when you thought it was peaking, out she comes with ‘Rusty Razor’, from ‘Paper Doll’, a full-on rocker, with a snarling vocal and blistering pace, wow, and not giving us time for a breath she bangs out, ‘Don’t Say It’, incredible. and just when you think it was all over, she invites Zac Schulze on stage to hammer the final nail in, with ‘Bitch On The Run’, which saw the two guitarists trade off. It was awesome to watch, each taking turns in enthralling the crowd, and it showed just how good Schulze is, very impressive, but together, well it had to be seen to be believed. We could see these two working together in the future, and what a response from the now wrung out crowd.

The Town Hall is not an easy venue to generate an atmosphere, due to its cavernous size, especially the height. But tonight was one of the best I’ve seen here. Phenomenal.

Photos by Geoff Griffe
Review by Jennifer Griffe