An air of revelry and jubilation emanated from the packed, sold-out crowd and vibrated throughout Delmar Hall in St. Louis Friday night for this stop on Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton’s Supadupabad Tour.
Touring to support Death Wish Blues, the Grammy-nominated collaborative album between Fish and Dayton, the album is “a body of work born from a shared passion for pushing the limits of blues music.”
Hailing from Kansas City, having the award-winning Fish perform in St. Louis is a homecoming of sorts (they’d performed in Kansas City the night before) as many have seen Fish practically grow up on stage performing at Blues City Deli, Old Rock House among other smaller venues and most recently at Music at the Intersection in September 2023.
Their seemingly lightening-fast 90-minute set was jam-packed with originals such as the hip-swaying “Deathwish,” the soul-searching “Down in the Mud,” and the softer, sweeter “No Apology” from the album as well as several covers including Fish’s, “Bulletproof (Tangle Eye Mix), Dayton’s “Baby’s Long Gone,” as well as Townes van Zandt’s “I’ll Be Here in the Morning,” and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You.” The chit chat was kept to a minimum but when they did talk they shared heartfelt, genuine stories. The duo played well off each other and seemingly had a blast on stage and the fans adored every single minute.
The combo of the glamorous Fish and rough and tumbled Dayton has proven that one can never tell when an unlikely mishmash just might bring a harmony and synthesis that simply works.
Sgt. Splendor opened the night with 40 minutes of gritty, guttural, updated ‘70s blues (with a heavy emphasis on blues) rock with a little jangle tossed in on occasion for good measure. Kate Vargas and Eric McFadden are the heart of this band with a rhythm section flanking them on tour. If McFadden looks familiar it’s because he’s performed and collaborated with dozens of musicians including George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, Fishbone’s Angelo Moore, Eric Burdon, Anders Osborne, and more. It can be hard to captivate a crowd when they aren’t so familiar with a band, but Sgt. Splendor had a blast on stage which radiated well beyond the edge of the boards. Vargas and McFadden highlighted “Death of the Hoochie Koo” and “All Dead to Me,” two feature songs from recent albums.
If tonight was any indication, Fish’s trajectory will keep soaring to new heights and, one can hope, will dabble with unlikely collaborations that prove to bring hit after hit.
Find all the photos from the night here: https://bit.ly/FishDayton23cz
