Live Review
Susan Tedeschi & Shemekia Copeland
@ O'Shaughnessy Auditorium
March 30, 1999
by Ann Wickstrom
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Shemekia Copeland
Photo © 1999 Tom Asp. All rights reserved
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Susan Tedeschi had always played much smaller venues when in the twin cities, her "number one market," but she's made the leap to auditoriums, festivals and the like. This is due in no small part to the airplay Cities 97 has given her single "It Hurt So Bad." It was no surprise then, that a great percentage of this crowd came to hear Susan and was not hip to Shemekia Copeland. Yet, Shemekia is the daughter of Johnny Clyde Copeland. She turned 20 just eleven days after this show. This young woman is sure to be the next "Queen of the Blues," with a very powerful voice, great vibrato, and a gutsy delivery. I don't think this crowd had any idea what they were in for. Her set consisted almost entirely of the songs on her debut CD on Alligator Records, "Turn the Heat Up." She started out with "Big Lovin' Woman" and then laid into "My Kind of Guy." This is a Chicago-style tune on which she invited the audience to join in on a round of call-and-response; first the ladies and then the "fellas." I got my wish when she sang the slow, painfully intense "Salt in My Wounds." Shemekia and the song will be featured in a movie this summer called "Three to Tango." For "Turn the Heat Up," she was dancin', shakin', and even doing some fancy dance steps with her band. She then sang the only song NOT on her CD, a deep Delta tune featuring a keyboard solo. During this one Shemekia grabbed one end of the small electric piano and tipped it up while it was being played, and then slid on over to the other side of the stage to get in a little dirty dancing with her guitar player.
The most telling moment of Shemekia's show came when she sang one of her father's songs, the slow, moving "Ghetto Child."
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Susan Tedeschi
Photo © 1999 Tom Asp All rights reserved
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She had the band bring the volume WAY down and then stepped to the front edge of the stage. There she stood, all alone and with no mic, and filled up the entire auditorium with her incredible voice. For this she received a well-deserved standing ovation and then closed with the funky "Your Mama's Talking."
Shemekia was a hard act to follow, and although Tedeschi gave it her all, the odds seemed against her and her performance was a bit disappointing. She was at the tail-end of a bout with strep throat AND was having problems with her amp, often turning around to make adjustments. Tedeschi did six songs from her "Just Won't Burn" CD, starting out with "Rock Me Right."
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Sean Pittman
Photo © 1999 Tom Asp All rights reserved
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Young Texan Shawn Pittman has joined her band to help out on guitar. Pittman is a very talented player who released his debut CD on Cannonball Records last year, but he was very low-key during this show, taking only a few brief solos. I was hoping to hear him really wail. Other songs from Susan's CD included "Just Won't Burn," "You Need to Be With Me," and, of course, "It Hurt So Bad" with it's telltale Fats Domino-style intro. She also reached back for a couple of the covers that are on the CD: Jr. Wells' "Little by Little" and a rollicking update of Ruth Brown's "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean." Other covers (which Susan has not recorded) were "Voodoo Woman" - which featured her best guitar solo and a great solo from her keyboard player - and the Magic Sam/Bobby "Blue" Bland classic "I Don't Want No Woman."
This review is copyright © 1999 by Ann Wickstrom, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.
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