Sharon Jones, Hot, Gritty And Fabulous

In a perfect world, Sharon Jones would kick-start every weekend. Sporting a blouse appropriate for Sunday services, the soul firecracker delivered a revelatory hour of James Brown-inspired rave-ups at the Black Cat on Friday night.

Jones was so fervid, so captivating that her enamored audience might not have noticed her backing band, the Dap-Kings, had they not warmed up the crowd beforehand. The seven-piece troupe donned thrift store suits and laid down an equally vintage groove. Horns seared, guitars dripped with the perfect amount of reverb, the hi-hat and snare snapped like an old Stax 45. And while their delivery was a bit stiff, the Dap-Kings still sounded tighter -- and grittier -- than the mini-orchestra James Brown had backing him at his Washington performance last December.

The Godfather of Soul is obviously Jones's idol. She said as much later in the show, but proved it the moment she stepped onstage, charging through the tight and busy grooves of "Got to Be the Way It Is." Jones's singing evokes the energy of Brown acolytes Lyn Collins and Marva Whitney, but her voice is a coarser, brawnier instrument. And she wasn't afraid top it off with a shriek worthy of funk legend Betty Davis.

"It's time for a cover," Jones declared late in the set. "And whenever we do a cover we lose our minds!" With that, the Dap-Kings tore into a wicked take on the folk classic "This Land Is Your Land." It was the funkiest Woody Guthrie cover one could ever hope to hear.

-- Chris Richards