the free tickets.

remember how i was caller 2 this week? the concert was last night (after trying to get ready while the electricity on our block was out) and we have discovered a new favorite artist: shemekia copeland (who was not the headliner, by the way).

describing her voice is powerful is an extreme understatement. her voice is everything a blues singer's should be: deep, intense, strong, or as her bio states more accurately it's a "huge, blast-furnace" voice. she played just five songs from her volume of work (three albums to date), but those songs left a great impact on my better half (a musician) and i. perhaps my favorite song was "ghetto child" written by her late father, johnny clyde copeland, a texas blues guitarist. not only were the music and lyrics incredibly moving ("but i went to school one mornin'/and the teacher she told me/when you come back child, have on some shoes/i'm just the ghetto child/somebody please please help the ghetto child/i'm just the ghetto child/in this so-called, in this so-called free land"), but she went off-mic during the song and her voice resonated throughout the auditorium loudly, deeply and intimately.

she is backed by an excellent band and a standout drummer, barry harrison. i liked that she was very respectful of her band, letting their solos take the limelight, following with their names and allowing them to shine, too. i could see how someone with that voice could be bigger than life and have that get in the way of the core musicians that make it happen.

i did feel that her stage presence was a little uncertain at times; like she needed to just let go, but that she felt awkward. she commented that she couldn't see us because of the lights and that we were very quiet. i think she needs the energy of a club venue perhaps. next time, i would like to see her at a venue a bit less stodgy that the luckman fine arts complex auditorium at cal state la (albeit a nice one). blues just begs for more loose environs.

check out her albums on amazon or on her own site (i was disappointed that she is not on itunes).

more info on the artist and tour dates.

(shemekia was followed by headliner, taj mahal who gave such a lackluster performance that we left three songs in. he had a whole jimmy buffet vibe, a sloppy drummer and a whole lotta nothing going on.)

art credit: shemekia copeland.