Soul. You either got it or you don't. Ms Sharon Jones...all 4ft 11 inches of her...has it by the bucket load. There's a wonderful old school soul and funk revival going on over in Brooklyn at the moment and Daptone Records (home to Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings as well as The Budos Band, Sugarman Three and a whole host of other great artists) are right at the heart of it all. Tonight's gig was an all too rare chance to see the undeniable stars of the label in full force and it was every damn bit as good as I'd hoped it would be. Although I saw James Brown live a few years ago he was, quite understandably, a little less energetic than in his prime (if I can still breath unaided at 70, let alone do the splits, I'll be a lucky man). Whilst you can't turn back the clock and go whizzing off to Harlem c.1968 we have, in Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, a band and lead vocalist with every bit as much talent, potency and ball busting funkiness as the Godfather at his best.The voice dripped soul. The band were as tight as dozen cats in a jam jar (Binky Griptite is one cool dude). And the booty shaking, well, the girl can move. Nothing felt forced. It didn't feel like a pastiche or revival. Shut your eyes and you could've been in The Apollo Theater. The Godfather (RIP) may be dead but long live the Godmother, the hardest working woman in showbusiness...ladies and gentlemen...Ms Sharon Jones.
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