HitdaBreakz

SHARON JONES : A NOSSA RAINHA DA SOUL

Fotografia tirada no Dolhuys (Dordrecht, Holanda) por Rick Keus/Fokko Van der Straaten (Março 2005)

O concerto da Sharon Jones ainda deixa mossas de tão bom que foi. Foi um enorme prazer poder ter estado associado àquilo que foi a estreia do funk puro em concerto em Portugal. Foi um prazer ainda maior olhar para a assistência e ver os outros que, como eu, viam o concerto, com um sorriso enorme na cara e a cantar as músicas em uníssono com a Sharon ("how loowowooong do I have to wait for ya, honey!").

É exactamente de uma dessas pessoas o texto que se segue. Chama-se Joana e esteve na primeira fila do concerto. O texto foi escrito, inicialmente, para o fórum do programa Worldwide do Gilles Peterson mas, de tão bom que está, não podíamos deixá-lo passar. Assim, e com os devidos agradecimentos à Joana por nos ter autorizado a transcrever o texto para o blog, o concerto da Sharon Jones visto por quem lá esteve.

SHARON JONES : SOUL QUEEN OF US ALL

Lemme start by saying that after yesterday's mesmerizing performance by Ms Sharon Jones and her uber cool Dap Kings, nothing in the world of soul can EVER be the same.

I had heard the album, "Naturally", and made mental notes of people's accounts who labelled her concerts "a two hour trip into an intense and unforgetable life experience". It was that and then some. I was trying to drag people over to go see it but it was a hot, damp Monday night and most of my friends decided to stay at home and keep their AC's company. I managed to talk my soul loving cousin Sofia into coming along but not without some convincing. The poor thing, who had just worked a 14 hour shift, had never heard of Sharon Jones and asked me to describe what the music sounded like. I told her it was like Jill Scott had met with Aretha Franklin and they all went out for drinks with James Brown. She grabbed her purse and off we went. I was wrong through. They didn't "just have drinks" and Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Woody Guthrie were there too... :)

Watching the performance was like witnessing the fine inner workings of an intense relationship. There was courtship, tenderness, extreme joy, deep sadness, sweet love making, rough patches and arguments, jealousy, break ups, make ups: Life. With a SOUL. Lush, tantalizing, it was the sheer embodiment of old school passion in a woman and a collective of amazing musicians - a sexy bunch of men dressed in perfectly cut suits playing their instruments with such skill i KNOW they could be doing it in their sleep. Yum.


Fotografia por Alexandre Camarão

At one point Ms Jones had a handful of us girls in the front row up on the stage for some serious shakedown! At first she simply unleashed the womanly beasts inside us with the simple and to the core war scream of "yeah girl, get your groove on!" Then she had us turn our backs to the audience and shake our bootys at them like there was no tomorrow! We obbeyed. There was no turning back now, the room was on fire.


Fotografia por Alexandre Camarão

Dap King Binky Griptite, the master of ceremonies and lead guitarrist, exhuded cool and poise from every pore of his brown skin. Neal Sugarman worked his tenor sax like most women will never get to be worked in their lifetimes. Dave Guy on trumpet and El Michaels on baritone sax were also superb and watching Bosco Mann play his bass - he also writes most of the songs - was almost like witnessing Moses leading his people out of Egypt. Sharon had us at Good Night Lisbon but then she just kept throwing her charm at us, her raw soul sister irreverence, her sweet side, her raunchy animal instinct... It was like delving into a lush platter of emotions all seasoned to perfection by lashings of honesty and irreprehensible playing - the Dap Kings NEED their rightfull thrones pronto - and unadultered pure love of good music making. Songs like "How Do I Let a Good Man Down?", "How Long do I Have to Wait for You?", "Natural Born Lover" and the sinful cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" had us all on our knees. I don't remember the last time i bowed down in respect to an artist and last night i did.
Suffice to say that after sweating like a piglet in a sauna and dancing my little tush off until my feet felt like they had been dipped in an ant farm full of busy and hungry little ones, i am no longer worried with those extra pounds brought about by the truckloads of Coconut Magnum lollies i have been stuffing my face with!

Adding to this: I got home at 4:00 am and got up at 7:00. Thank you very much and have a nice coffee, erm, day.