Super bad sista' of soul

Sharon Jones makes age-old sentiments new in San Francisco

By Camille Ikalina Robles
Published: December 7th, 2007 | 4:10am

Dec. 5, 2007, in San Francisco — Sharon Jones sings about love, happiness, and loneliness. She talks to you about broken hearts and breaking hearts, and sings about the same age-old sentiments as most singers out there. But when you hear Sharon Jones sing it with the kind of voice that sends tingles up your spine and pulls at something deep down in your guts, you feel it because she makes you believe that she’s lived it too.

Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco is as much a legend as those who take residence on its stage. Even now, the glamorous nightclub still manages to capture the glitz of the 1930s, as concertgoers fill the cocktail lounge in vintage dresses and suits and martini in hand to watch the show. The only people who looked more dapper than the audience members were the Dap-Kings.

Dressed in fabulous, vintage-style suits and patent leather dress shoes, opening band privileges went to the Dap-Kings, who warmed up the crowd at the sold-out show with a short song and jam before guitarist Binky Griptite introduced the “super bad soul sista’” Sharon Jones. Jones took the stage to a roaring round of applause and asked the audience if they would mind if she took a moment to dance. She was “feelin’ it” and couldn’t wait any longer. Soon she was croonin’ the words to “Nobody’s Baby” off of the newly released album 100 Days, 100 Nights (Daptone) and sang it so well she made me believe I was nobody’s baby, either.

But what’s some good soul and funk without a little audience participation? Apparently Ms. Jones thought the same thing, as she pulled four members of the audience up on stage to serve as her backup dancers for “My Man Is A Mean Man.” The women danced as Jones talked about her mean man to each of the ladies, explaining how he had done her wrong as she escorted them off the stage. The audience became backup singers for the entire evening, providing “ooh, oohs” in all the necessary places. Later in the show, Jones said she wanted a young man to sing “Be Easy” to and pulled one up from the crowd. She asked his name and introduced Johnny to the Bimbo’s crowd. Johnny, obviously enamored with the songstress, danced like a maniac and managed to propose to Jones three times during the three-minute song.

The Dap-Kings — the official house band of indie label Daptone Records — had a chance to showcase their musical talent later in the show when Jones featured each member in their own solo. The Dap-Kings recently supported Amy Winehouse during her first U.S. tour and also appear on her album Back to Black (Republic).

Perhaps it was the décor, the classic soul and funk blaring from the trumpet, bass, and saxophone, or maybe even the costumed audience members in their vintage garb that made everyone feel like they were living in a new place and time. For a night, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings made everything old-school fresh and new again.