Blues guitarist and vocalist Samantha Fish and her outstanding 3 piece backing band brought her ‘Shake It On Down Tour’ to a packed Crocodile Cafe Wednesday evening with support provided by Mississippi’s Cedric Burnside and garage blues stalwart Jon Spencer.

Fish started strong with the rousing call to arms ‘Kick Out the Jams’ (MC5) before taking the audience on a tour of her impressive catalog. She’s a true triple threat as a performer with her fiery guitar playing, her powerful and heartfelt vocals, and her top-notch songwriting skills.

Fish worked her way through a seemingly endless series of guitars and playing styles, showcasing her excellent slide playing and crowd pleasing (make that ‘crowd igniting’) fingerpicking technique. The audience was attentive and engaged during her slower, soulful numbers and boisterous and responsive when she leaned into her more intense, distortion soaked R&R tunes.

Fish’s knack for effortlessly jumping from hill country fingerpicking and slide work on a 4 string cigar box guitar to roaring, feedback heavy jams to sweet and soulful ballads gives one hope for the future of the blues. With this most American of musical forms in the hands and fingers of artists such as Samantha Fish, Cedric Burnside, and Jon Spencer, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic.