Michael Smyth / Tahoe Onstage
Samantha Fish paid a headlining visit to the freshly remodeled Crown Room at Crystal Bay Club Casino on Thursday night, kicking off the big Labor Day holiday weekend a day early.
Featuring tunes from her last two records, “Chills and Fever” and most recently “Belle Of The West,” Fish glided through the first half of the set with pretty standard renditions. She and her band have been touring hard in 2018 and she clearly saved her energy for the back end of the show. Donning an acoustic guitar for “Need You More” and “Jim Lee” she busted off some effect- free, pure blues riffs before returning to her electric axe, really picking up the pace and also delivering solos.
Clad in black bustier, sparkly stretch pants and stilletos, the elegant Samantha Fish even went down in a heap when a stagehand tried to untangle a cord onstage behind her. Quickly returning to her feet, and laughing, she delighted the crowd by referring to herself as a “mother-fucking figure skater” on the crowded Crown Room stage. Undeterred, she ripped through some of her strongest work on “Either Way I Lose,” “Nearer To You,” and “Bitch On The Run” to close the main set. She then donned her trademark cigar-box guitar for a blistering encore of slide work on “Crow Jane.”
Samantha Fish has hit a nice stride and earned every bit of success with hard work. If you missed her on Thursday, she’ll be at The Strawberry Music Fest just over the hill this weekend.
— Michael Smyth
Related story: Samantha Fish says why she loves live music.
Editor’s note: It’s thrilling to witness an artist break out. Samantha Fish is transcending the blues and has a growing legion of devout fans, including Harry “Boogie Ignitor” Lofin, who is attended his 100th show. Images of Fish’s second performance at the Crystal Bay Casino, on Aug. 30, were captured by Tahoe Onstage photographers Michael Smyth, Kurt Johnson and Larry Sabo.
Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage
4 Responses
I don’t know what she did in Crystal Bay .She absolutely killed in Cloverdale Fri night . Two sets , awesome band . Kick ass drummer , keyboards , bassist . This girl can play the living crap out of the guitar .
Saw her April 2017 at Birchmere and she and her band put on an awesome show. She has some pipes and can really jam on guitar. Great show to see!!
AJ Pope told me to watch closely the growth & development of this rising star…. in 2016.
He also mentioned you will be a witness to “Musical History in the Making”….
We now will be blessed with another Multi-Diametional album that will soon hit chart toping success in Sept. of 2019
The Awards speak for themselves….
She is a Musical Juggernaut for our times currently.
Thank You Samantha for your precious time.
She was an under rated performer but I personally found her live performances quite energetic – making the energy inside me skate around like a free soul.