In Concert : Let's hear it for Sista Monica, a rootsy blues testifier
11/14/07
By JOSEF WOODARD
NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
What a difference one gig makes. Sista Monica, the big voice and big heart singer of blues, soul and gospel, has appeared in Santa Barbara in the past, but her show Saturday at Warren Hall was energized by at least a couple important hallmarks.
For one, this was the Santa Cruz-based singer's first show here under the auspices of the Santa Barbara Blues Society, conferring a higher level of cultural respect for the artist's rootsy credibility. And there is the matter of her renewed appreciation of livelihood, following a bout with cancer two years ago. She won and funneled her renewed creative energy into the album aptly named "Can't Keep a Good Woman Down."
A fighting spirit and a commanding voice are her claims to fame; when Sista Monica takes the stage, she really takes the stage. At Warren Hall, both her sets opened with an instrumental blues outing from her band, led by nimble keyboardist and music director Danny Beconcini.
A Sista Monica show is no dry, run-down-the-songs affair, and it involves plenty of antics and crowd participation, as on the sing-along exercise "The Blues is Alright." She belted out "Never Say Never," and in the middle of Mr. Beconcini's solo, she interrupted, saying "can you scratch my back some? Any man with hands like that, I gotta have some."
Nodding to Mavis Staples -- who recently sang in town -- Sista Monica offered a spicy version of the Staple Singers' song "I'll Take You There," and she showed off her songwriting skills with "Put it in the Crock Pot," a tightened-up James Brown-funk kind of groove.
In the second set, Sista Monica branched out with The Meters' classic "Iko Iko" and a stirring reading of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come." In this case, she personalized the song, referencing her personal changes in the process of fighting off cancer. She told the crowd, "I figured if it didn't kill me, it was going to make me stronger." The latter has apparently happened.
Guitarist-singer Roy Gaines was in the house this night, making a choice cameo appearance. Looking dapper in his suit and fedora, Mr. Gaines joined in on "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth is," implicitly living up to the title, as demonstrated with his red hollow body guitar.
A run through the old blues staple "You Got to Move" represented the Saturday night quotient. But Sunday morning also beckoned, with her gospel tune "Livin' in the Spirit." At one point, Sista Monica summed up her attitude toward living life in the moment, saying, "I'm a living, walking, breathing miracle." In that list of verbs, she forgot to mention "testifying."
|
