Concert Review: Joss Stone at the Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA

After a long pause with live music, this weekend was a “Two-fer”!  Saturday night we saw the Sammy Hagar show (see previous post for the review) and Sunday night found us back at the iconic Fillmore Auditorium for another great show!

Unfortunately the Mrs. was feeling a little under the weather and opted out of this one, so it turned into a Dad & Daughter outing, which was nice in it’s own way.

As often happens at SF shows, we got in the doors a little late so we missed about half of the opening set by Nik West and her band, but what we did see was really impressive!  They were funky as could be and the band was TIGHT!  I had never heard of her before seeing her on stage, but I’ll definitely be searching out more from her.  It’s not every day you see a female bassist, and even more rare to see a female bassist just tearing it up with all kinds of slappin’ and funky grooves, but to play bass like that AND sing lead?!?!  And then her stage presence on top of all that?!  Are you kidding me?!?!  This lady is the real deal!  I was really impressed and lamented our tardiness greatly.  I would have loved to see the full set.

This was our first time seeing Joss Stone, despite being fans of her since her very first record, and it was worth the wait!

She hit the stage with a 10 piece band (!!!) and the band was just sizzling from the jump!  Seriously,  I don’t know what to say – every musician on the stage was top-notch and exciting to watch.  The rhythm section was exceptional, the guitarist was versatile and outstanding, the horn section filled out the sound beautifully without being overbearing.  Even the 3 backup singers sounded amazing!

Personally,  I love a ‘power trio’ above just about all other bands, but there is something about seeing a big ensemble like this that is totally in sync and just killing it musically that really rocks my world.  And honestly it seemed like the entire band was having the time of their lives on that stage.  It was infectious and exciting, to say the least!

And Joss Stone, herself?  Freakin’ FANTASTIC!!  How so much soul can be packed into such a tiny package boggles the mind!  Her voice is just magic.  And she seemed like she was having every bit as much fun as the band!

All in all it was a great night of music.  Great songs, outstanding musicianship and the great vibe of the bands and Fillmore itself. 

If Joss comes to your neck of the woods, do yourself a favor and GO!  If you love music, you won’t regret it!

Thanks for stopping by!