Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar brought the blues, a lot of soul and a heap of good vibes to Southminster United Church for a decent sized crowd, Thursday, Nov. 17 for a Geomatic Attic/Lethbridge Jazz and Blues Society co-production.
The Alberta born Toronto based Martin finally got to play the Lethbridge show for her latest CD “ The Reckless One,” which had been cancelled because of Covid a few months ago, so she was overjoyed to be back on stage, especially backed by a crack nine-piece band.
As a bonus, Steve Marriner was also on the bill , supporting his latest solo CD “ Hope Dies Last.”
He played solo with an acoustic guitar, which was a change from his usual loud blues infused rock he plays with MonkeyJunk.
But he added extra percussion by stomping on a slab of wood set at his feet.
Marriner played a few solo tracks, He opened with “ Trouble” but focused on the new CD. One of the highlights was “Coal Mine,” a co-write with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings’ Tom Wilson.
He also played “Enough” which features Samantha Martin, so I halfway expected her to make an early appearance on stage, but she didn’t. Marriner observed both “The Reckless One” an “
Hope Dies Last” were nominated for Juno awards, but they lost out to Colin James.
He played a tribute he wrote for John Prine. He talked about the pandemic, noting “It‘s okay not to be okay” and sang a song about that before ending with “Long Way Down” from the solo CD.
Samantha Martin bounced around the stage, despite being pregnant, and howled soul into her microphone. She launched into an uplifting set with the apt “ Love Is All Around,” the first track from the Reckless One”bringing a little gospel to the church.
The ’50s flavoured “ All That I Am” featured a sweet piano solo.
She welcomed Steve Marriner back to the stage to sing a beautiful duet.
The Edmonton born, Toronto based singer talked about being pregnant and bringing her partner on tour with her to help her pull on the thigh high leather boots she was wearing.
She sang in a huge, raspy, voice that oozed soul, reminiscent of Amanda Marshall, Alannah Myles and Sass Jordan with a touch of Janis Joplin.
Martin talked about looking for “Mr. Right Now” and sang about that.
She delved back into the last CD “ Run To Me” for the exceptional “Good Trouble,” then slowed things down with “ I’ve Got a Feeling.”
The band was fantastic, with the three piece horn section which added just the right amount of brass, never overpowering the songs , tasteful guitar and keyboard solos.
She introduced their revamped funk fuelled cover of Bob Dylan’s “ Meet Me In the Morning,” which allowed everyone to solo.
They wound down the set with “ I’ve got a Feeling and played another song about working hard.
She introduced the band as they vamped on a few bars of R and B classic “ Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” before ending the set with “Loving You Is Easy.”
They were called back for an encore.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat editor
