Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Lisa Fischer

Lisa Fischer Gives Love to Durham Audience


     A houseful of adoring fans welcomed Lisa Fischer to the Carolina Theater in Durham on September 15th.   The excellent acoustics in the hall created a magical musical evening.

     Ms. Fischer displayed great chemistry with her band, Grand Baton, a powerhouse of three musicians.  “I am so blessed being able to work with them,” she explained to the audience mid-way through her performance.  Guadeloupean JC Maillard, is a composer, pianist, vocalist, and guitarist.  On several songs, he played his Sazbass, an 8 steel-string electroacoustic instrument designed by French luthier, Herve Prudent. 

     Frenchman Thierry Arpino is a graduate of Berklee and played like a master on drums and cymbals.  Several years ago, he accompanied B. B. King at the Montreux Jazz Festival.

     Aidan Carroll accompanied on bass.  Mr. Carroll debuted his first CD in March of this year, “Original Vision.”  With the rest of Grand Baton, he will be part of Ms. Fischer’s current tour through February, 2016.

      While Lisa Fischer may be best known from screaming “RAPE!  MURDERRRR!” with the Stones on Gimme Shelter, in recent years she has included ballads and blues to her repertoire.   For her second song, she chose the great Eric Bibb’s “Don’t Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down” and showed the depth and meaning she can give to the blues.

     Another stunner was “Fever” (Little Willie John), which was delivered with such sultry skill that I thought her mic would melt.  This was followed by “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” a hit by the Rolling Stones, delivered in a slower, thoughtful mood by Ms. Fischer and her band.  She also performed “How Can I Ease the Pain,” which won her a Grammy in 1992 for Best R & B vocal.

     At one point in the evening, a fan shouted out a request, “Baby,” which was not included in the set list.  Ms. Fischer obligingly sang it to her appreciative fans.

     Her encore was the Stones’ “Wild Horses,” which went to the center of her, and everyone else’s soul.


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