Show Review: Seattle Loves Dana Fuchs and She Loves Them Back
Dana Fuchs
Jazz Alley
March 18. 2015
Wednesday night, March 18, was quite a night for Dana Fuchs and her talented band. She joked around on stage about wanting to make Seattle her home, and judging by the reception the Jazz Alley crowd gave her, she’d fit right in.
This was her second night of a two-night run at the upscale Seattle supper club and capped off her first performances there.
It was an emotional night as well, as have all of her shows lately. Dana unexpectedly lost one of her brothers in recent weeks and she’s been a real trooper going on the way she has. I get the sense that performing for her is part of the healing process.
So on this night The Dana Fuchs Band brought a little more rock than the Jazz Alley stage is used to but at the same time it had all the elements of a blues revival. She mixed in some old with the new, accommodating some requests to play some of her earlier stuff and even threw in some Otis Redding. The top-notch group of musicians even played some stripped down acoustic country music. The band, although known more for a bluesier style can play the hell out of traditional country. Fuchs added that her styles all come from the same place: the blues. She mentioned that when she was two years old her family moved to the panhandle in Florida, she said “Might as well have been Alabama…”, jokingly, of course.
The rhythm section brought their “A” game as guitarist and Dana’s long-time songwriting partner Jon Diamond dished out tasty guitar licks all night long, while bassist Jack Daley and drummer Piero Perelli matched up to provide a potent lower end. Fuchs explained from the stage how they found Perelli. The band was warming up while on tour over seas and she heard this guy playing their songs. Their real drummer couldn’t make the trip and when she heard Perelli she knew he was something special and he proved that, as he delighted the Jazz Alley audience when he offered them a damn fine drum solo later in the evening.
Dana is quite funny and connected with the audience very well. She joked that she’s be keeping “tonight’s” show a little cleaner because she didn’t know it (the night before) was all ages. She quipped, “I’ve been using those words since I was 4″….that got a good chuckle out of the crowd.
As the band finished things up with a blazing version of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”, it was clear that Fuchs had won over any of the people that hadn’t seen or heard her before. She sings with a passion and fire that pulls in the listener and her voice demands that you connect with the spot she is singing from, which is deep down inside.
An animated and energetic performer, she bounced, wiggled and danced her way from one side of the Jazz Alley stage to the other, pretty much all night long. The hour and a half set included the standard introductory solos from the members of the band leading way into a bass tribute of “All Right Now” by the band Free. No doubt in memory of Free bassist Andy Fraser who died on March 16 at the age of 62.
Her set brought many of the crowd to their feet a few times towards the end of the show as the band tightly wrapped it all up. This is a fantastic band and they have a great synergy on stage. If you ever have a chance to see her live, do it and no matter where you are in life you’ll leave feeling better.
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