When Sari Schorr walks on stage at the Yellow Arch Studio in Sheffield and says, “Every wonderful person in Sheffield is here tonight”, you know it’s going to be a great evening. Sari Schorr’s shows are more like a personal showcase than your regular gig, we are all friends experiencing this together and Sari is hear to inspire us all and lift our souls.
With the swirling of keys from Adrian Gautry we kick the night off with ‘Freedom’ from ‘Never Say Never’. Quickly in to ‘Demolition Man’ and ‘Ain’t Got no Money’ from ‘Force of Nature’ and boy is Sari on it tonight. That voice screaming so powerful, yet soulful as well, Sari has it all, perfection indeed, truly sensational. A couple of new songs ‘My Friend’ (or whatever it’s going to be called) and ‘Coal River’ follow. Sari explains writing songs keeps her out of trouble and performing them is so much more fun than writing them which sometimes hurts. ‘My Friend’ is an epic, immediately making an impact on me, as Sari screams it sending shivers down my spine, if only I could put this one on repeat over and over again. A big mention must be made to Ash Wilson and his soulful guitar playing that accompanies Sari’s voice so beautifully on this one and indeed throughout the night.
Another new one is ‘Cat and Mouse’. ‘Back to LA’ is a huge crowd favourite and one I really love. Sari explains that it’s about the people that come into your life but don’t stay forever. You could hear a pin drop when Adrian Gautry begins the tender piano intro for the beautiful ballad that is ‘Ordinary Life’. Sari explains, “It’s not happy people that are grateful, it is grateful people that are happy.” Grateful for this ordinary life Sari sings with such tender passion and you believe it, there is a magic in her voice. A storming version of the Willie Dixon classic ‘I Just Wanna Make Love to You’ with the pounding bass from Roger Inniss. ‘Oklahoma’ and ‘Damn the Truth’ from the ‘Force of Nature’ album follow. Next up is Sari’s cover of the Classic ‘Black Betty’ and she puts her own unique interpretation into this, unbelievable, what a performance and probably the biggest applause of the night from the appreciative Sheffield crowd. ‘King of Rock n Roll’ and ‘Valentino’ from ‘Never Say Never’ wraps up the set.
But the Sheffield crowd want more and Sari and her band duly oblige, coming back on stage to perform a new song ‘Suicidal Nation’, which Sari explains maybe new to us, but she had been working on it for five years and what a great song it was, well worth the wait indeed. The final song of a beautiful evening was the aptly titled song ‘Beautiful’ – what a way to end this amazing night.
Sari Schorr may only have released 2 albums but with the quality of songs it feels like this was a greatest hit’s night from an artist with 20 albums. Singers/Performers of this calibre don’t come along very often and even less with the humility that Sari has. Sari is one of the very best Blues/Rock singers out there. So catch her if you can, you will not be disappointed.
Sari Schorr is back in the UK in October with the excellent Matt Pearce and the Mutiny get your tickets now!
With thanks to Central Press PR for the media access.
GALLERY – Photos by David Pickles
