Amanda Shaw brings the heat
May 18th, 2008 by Wade Tatangelo in News
“Tampa, can you get your mojo workin’?” a confidently smiling Amanda Shaw asked before launching into a fiery, fiddle-laced cover of the Muddy Waters classic “Got My Mojo Workin,”‘ which sent the all-ages audience into dance mode. The singer/songwriter/violinist/actor made a memorable Tampa Bay debut Saturday at WMNF’s 28th Annual Tropical Heatwave. The community radio station’s signature fundraiser, it featured six stages in and around the Cuban Club in Ybor City. About 30 mostly national and local bands, ranging from polka to post-rock acts, entertained the thousands of attendees.
Shaw, the 17-year-old wunderkind who appeared on the cover of this week’s Creative Loafing, co-headlined the El Pasaje Plaza, which was rechristened the Louisiana Stage this year. All six artists playing on it hail from the Bayou State, with five of them, Shaw included, fresh off performances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The Louisiana Stage is where I remained — taking notes, pictures and thoroughly enjoying myself — for almost the entire evening, a decision I did not regret. (In fact, I’d like to see the Louisiana Stage, which featured killer sets by Shaw, slide-guitar master Sonny Landreth and hip-hop brass band Soul Rebels, become a permanent attraction at Heatwave.)
Shaw’s poise, charisma, and chops belie her age. Then again, she’s been performing in public for a decade, and it showed Saturday. Backed by her superb, ironically dubbed “Cute Guys” band — guitarist Brint Anderson, bassist Ronnie Falgout and drummer Mike Barras are all middle-aged and didn’t appear too concerned about their looks — Shaw elated the crowd with her singular brand of Cajun-flavored roots rock.
Boasting a strong and expressive voice colored with genuine twang and beat-the-devil fiddle skills, the diminutive frontwoman turned in a dynamic performance that included interestingly reworked blues (”Got My Mojo Workin’”), traditional zydeco (”Hot Tamale Baby”) and Cajun-spiced punk (The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”).
Shaw’s originals, mostly culled from her Rounder Records debut Pretty Runs Out, were equally varied and impressive, with the teenager revealing a knack for mature lyrics and catchy hooks that make her rustic sounds appealing to pop fans — without sounding too poppy. Could Shaw bring Cajun music to the masses? Perhaps. For now, I just hope she returns to play a local venue like Skipper’s in the near future.
Stay tuned for more Heatwave pics and coverage of artists like Sonny Landreth, Soul Rebels, Del Castillo, Mighty Lester and Zydepunks.
Heatwave attendees file into the El Pasaje Plaza to catch Amanda Shaw perform on the Louisiana Stage. Photos by Wade Tatangelo.
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