Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings: 6 February 2014 – Beacon Theatre, New York

Sharon Jones proved she is a tour de force with her performance at the Beacon Theatre on February 6th 2014. Her rampant energy was conveyed on stage with dance moves most rock stars half her age don’t possess. All this despite the health issues she faced in the past year or so — just this past December she was still receiving chemo treatments for pancreatic cancer and it only two weeks prior to the show did Jones declare she was cancer-free. So what better way to celebrate than to tour on the heels of her latest album with the Dap-Kings, Give the People What They Want?

Jones was radiating with positivity. Perhaps the only sad moment was when she announced her trumpeter would be leaving the band to join Jimmy Fallon and the Roots on The Tonight Show as it gave him the opportunity to remain at home with his family. But she graciously thanked him and many other of her friends who happened to be in the audience including people with cancer whom she spent time with at Sharon Springs (a town in NY State) and her medical provider, Dr. Leonardo. No longer in the possession of her braided locks, Jones, shaking her head as she danced, added emphatically, “Since I don’t have hair, I’m gonna shake my head!”

But before Jones took the stage, Valerie June did a few songs to warm up the crowd as the opener and the Dapettes, Saundra Williams and Starr Duncan, did a few soulful numbers with the Dap-Kings, standing proud in their crisp suits. All told, ten people, including the brass trio, a rhythm section, two percussionists, and Williams and Duncan providing backup vocals, were backing Jones when it was her turn to ascend the stage. And once she did, the audience was up from their seats the remainder of the night, swaying, clapping and stomping along.

Throughout the 100+ minute set, Jones dove into tracks from GTPWTW (“You’ll be Lonely”, “Get Up and Get Out”, “Retreat”), her earlier albums and a couple of covers (namely the Motown classic “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”). The opening horns of “100 Days, 100 Nights” are instantly recognizable to fans, and when those notes blared, the audience roared.

Her powerful voice was never depleted, nor was Jones’s energy as she demonstrated several popular ’60s dances numbers for the audience in a medley including the jerk, the twist, the pony and James Brown’s camel walk. Jones and the Dap-Kings were quite clearly ecstatic to be back on stage with all that they had to be joyful for. Following the encore, Jones took to the merch-area to sign autographs for her adoring fans. The audience was just as ecstatic celebrating her electrifying return.

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