Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

For those people still mourning the tragic loss of James Brown, heed and rejoice! The Godfather of Soul has been re-incarnated into the form of a 4ft-something African-American by the name of Sharon Jones. And my word is she sexy.

Touring around the Meredith Golden Plains Festival, the 52 year old mistress from Georgia played an astounding 6 side-shows on top of her festival commitments, an effort only highlighting the laziness of every other fucker in the business. On the 11th of March I ventured to the elegant Gershwin Room, upstairs at the otherwise dingy, crack-whore infested Esplanade Hotel, a place i actually love dearly.

Playing a late show at 12.30am - the crowd were at first greeted on stage by the über cool Dap-Kings, pretty much the most influential soul band in the world at the moment. They looked as if they'd just stepped out of the Delorean coming straight from some 1930's smoky jazz house in the middle of down-town New York.

Lead guitarist and MC Binky Griptite was the first to speak, coming out the shadows during the Dap-Kings opening jam session to introduce himself and the band, each soloing as they stepped forward to their name. Three trumpets, two saxophones, one drummer, one percussionist, a bass player, another guitarist other than Binky plus three saucy backing vocalists - it's pretty much the funk and soul equivalent to the Harlem Globetrotters. And after quite a few minutes of stirring the crowd and making us scream until i felt faint in the head for our leading lady, Sharon was introduced. Well. I don't think my ears will ever recover from that moment.

This woman had a lot to live up to, three albums down, the now defunct funk magazine Big Daddy proclaimed that their first release, 2002's Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings "might be the best new funk album ever" and that, "this LP is a major triumph and a new standard has been set". But if there was ever any pressure to live up to, it wasn't even the opening song, it was the opening chords that blew them away.

Touring off their 2006 release 100 Days, 100 Nights, Sharon literally did not stop moving for the 1.5 hour set - which was an impressive length in itself considering the time - but it's clear that either she is powered by Energiser batteries or the lady just loves to get her funk on. Along with her Studio 54-esque dancing, and i mean the actual club in Manhattan not the shitty 1998 movie with Neve Campbell - Ms Jones's voice is just jaw dropping.

Some readers might think comparisons to James Brown are over-drawn at first but anyone who has seen this cheeky bird will testify - she is the shit. For some crowd members, spines tingled, for this reviewer, personally i felt it deep in my rib cage, like it was food for my soul. The music did not stop, The Dap-Kings are that musically in-tune with each other that gaps between songs were filled with beautiful improvisational jazz, each letting the other have their moment to show us their world-renowned talent. I guess it's a luxury one gains from touring constantly since their conception in '02.

Their set list was balanced nicely with numbers taken from all three albums, naturally (no pun intended) and the crowd cheered for songs off her latest album proving the critics aren't the only ones who think it's gold. The lady's passion for her music is undeniable, her voice soaring as her body jiggled back and forth to the rhythm, and the dance-floor was doing much the same with no hip in the room remaining stationary. There seemed to be an unspoken understanding amongst the crowd, a feeling that we were all here for the same thing and over the sound of hundreds of toes tappin' the floor one could even make out a sing-a-long during favourites, 'Nobody's Baby','Tell Me' and 'What Have You Done For Me Lately?'

Giving a timeless and simply unforgettable performance, i left the Espy drunk from the sound of Sharon's voice and the ensuing dance-fest. I was smiling uncontrollably and my feet were hurting badly, it was a bit past 2am on a Wednesday morning and satisfied was an understatement to say the least. For the past 1.5 hours the Espy had been transformed from a hold-your-breath cesspool to a classic discothéque and it would never be the same again.

The only thing i can further say is, Mark Ronson, i finally understand and share your obsession. The Dap-Kings are exactly that. Kings.
Party on Wayne. Party on Garth.