Samantha Fish Spreads Her Net Over London Audience In Style

by | Mar 18, 2020

 (phil.honley@btinternet.com)

On a night when the rain continues to fall, I head towards north London, a mecca for live music to see Missouri lass Samantha Fish.

 (phil.honley@btinternet.com)

(Fêlix Rabin)

I cannot overlook the great support provided by Félix Rabin on the night. The Brittany, France raised, Switzerland based 24-year-old singer-songwriter is an awesome guitarist. This young man impressed in 2019 when as an unknown quantity was one of the highlights of HRH Blues.

He has a fine debut EP Pogboy which is certainly getting some rave reviews. The title was derived from the guitar effects pedal he uses with great technique. When Félix includes Voodoo Chile in his set, loses a string, and continues unperturbed says a lot about the young man’s character.

 (phil.honley@btinternet.com)

I first saw Samantha Fish in 2011 when she toured with Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde under the Ruf Records banner Girls With Guitars. She has continued to tour the UK on a regular basis and the development of this gifted personable young lady has been apparent each time. The last time Samantha played London, last year, was in fact only her second London headline show and she played to a sell out audience of 600. This time around she was playing to a capacity crowd of close on 900.

 (phil.honley@btinternet.com)

The band took to the stage without Samantha for the opener Hole In The Bottom. This was the same band she brought to the UK last year being Chris Alexander (bass), Scotty Graves (Drums) and Phil Breen (keys) but in addition she had recording artist Nicholas David on keyboards and vocals. A strange opener as this is not one of Samantha’s songs but a number from Nicholas David’s album Yesterday’s Gone albeit produced by Fish. 

 (phil.honley@btinternet.com)

David introduces Samantha Fish to the stage to rapturous applause wearing the spikiest top ever, jeans and trademark colourful high heels. Cigar box slide guitar in hand it wasn’t long before Love Your Lies segued into the excellent Bullet Proof from her latest 2019 album Kill Or Be Kind. Cigar box is then exchanged for Gibson SG and Samantha played five more numbers from her latest album.

Nicholas David (Samantha Fish Band) (phil.honley@btinternet.com)

Nicholas David (Samantha Fish Band)

Samantha’s songwriting credentials have never been in doubt and this is proven when laid alongside two numbers penned by Nicholas David, the opener Hole In The Bottom and Say Goodbye, once again Fish giving way to David on vocals whilst she takes up her acoustic, and just one cover everything else in the set was written by this very talented young lady. 

 (phil.honley@btinternet.com)

Samantha highlights the many strings to her bow (she would never be tagged with just one genre) as she performs every number with aplomb whether it be blues, rock, metal, Americana, country or even a little rockabilly as in Little Baby. In addition to the two real crowd pleasers Bulletproof and Bitch On The Run, there were three stand out numbers on the night; Watch It Die, Kill Or Be Kind and No Angels with some exquisite slide.

 (phil.honley@btinternet.com)

Chris Alexander (Samantha Fish Band)

It seems strange that in what was a mature to ageing audience there was the constant exclamations of “I love you Samantha”. I am guessing these guys are single, lonely or they had been drinking on an empty head. Samantha was sympathetic and sarcastic, however, in declaring the love was reciprocated.

 (phil.honley@btinternet.com)

Nobody gets away without an encore but before doing so whilst Rabin lost a string, Fish lost a false eyelash. The first of two saw encore numbers saw Fish and David duet on Need You More before sending everyone home happy with a cover of Bukka White’s Shake ’em On Down.

 (phil.honley@btinternet.com)

A great evening showcasing not one but two fine talents that are destined to shine for some time to come. Samantha Fish is on a steady trajectory which is a blessing as we can continue to experience her regular UK visits in relatively modest venues, whilst Félix Rabin is just too good to go unnoticed for too long.

Photography and words by Phil Honley of  Samantha Fish at Islington Assembly Hall on Thursday 5th March 2020.  Phil has his own photography site here: http://www.gigsnapz.co.uk.

 

Sophie Lloyd @ Download Festival XXII - Saturday (Simon Reed)

Saturday In Photos At Download Festival XXII

As Download XXII roared into its second full day, Saturday continued the weekend's adrenaline-fuelled ride with...
Charli xcx @ Lido Festival 2025 (Henry Redcliffe)

Charli xcx’s ‘PARTYGIRL’ Rules The Night At LIDO Festival 2025 — A Euphoric Takeover In East London

East London was ablaze with brat energy on Saturday night as Charli xcx delivered a genre-defying, euphoric headline...
Green Day @ Download Festival XXII - Friday (Simon Reed)

Friday In Photos At Download Festival XXII

The sun rose over Donington Park as Download XXII launched into its first full day of music on Friday, setting the...
Roger Daltrey with The Who - Teenage Cancer Trust @ Royal Albert Hall (Kalpesh Patel)

Roger Daltrey Awarded Knighthood for Services To Music And Charity

Roger Daltrey, legendary frontman of The Who and lifelong champion of young people facing cancer, has officially been awarded a Knighthood in the King’s Birthday Honours list for 2025. The honour recognises not only his groundbreaking contributions to British music, but also his tireless work with Teenage Cancer Trust, the charity he has helped elevate to national prominence over the past three decades.

Sophie Grey @ Heilbronn (Kevin Ford)

Sophie Grey Brings ‘Retro Electro’ To The Big Stage With Sting Collab And New Music Video

Armed with a keytar, a singular sonic aesthetic, and an unapologetic love for retro-electro vibes, Sophie Grey is carving her place on the global stage — one synth-heavy track at a time. This summer, the rising artist has not only opened arena shows across Europe but has also shared the stage with none other than Sting, adding her signature flair to performances of The Police classic Spirits In The Material World on his 3.0 tour.

Fiaa Hamilton (Adam Brazier)

Fiaa Hamilton Celebrates Birthday With Empowering New Single ‘Nothing Is Perfect’

Rising pop powerhouse Fiaa Hamilton continues her skyward trajectory with the release of her bold and emotionally resonant new single Nothing Is Perfect, arriving just in time to mark her birthday. The track sees Fiaa cement her growing status as one of 2025’s most compelling new voices in pop, following a breakout year that’s included a New Faces For 2025 nod from The Sun and a performance at TikTok’s Live Fest alongside Jason Derulo and Zara Larsson at London’s iconic Roundhouse.

The Sons Of Guns (Cléa Margaret)

The Sons Of Guns Bring Modern Sunshine To ’70s Folk-Rock With Radiant Debut EP ‘You Shine The Sun’

Emerging from the sun-drenched hills of Nice with roots stretching back to Doncaster and even Bombay, genre-blurring...
Kane Brown (Dennis Leupold)

Kane Brown Drops Summer Anthem ‘2 Pair’ & Gears Up for International Tour

Genre-blending country trailblazer Kane Brown is officially soundtracking your summer with his brand-new single 2...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing