If you were super bummed when Ms. Wino canceled her tour to purportedly stand by the side of her ass-kicking boyfriend Bake Fielder-Civil as he faces charges of tampering with the testimony of some bloke he pummeled, don't be. Why? Well, firstly because she would have probably sounded like a tabby cat soaked in whiskey, shot full of junk, and being beat with a broomstick. Plus, if you were just out for the train wreck, I hear Vincent Gallo is on tour playing fully improvised sets with the bassist from Hole. Ouch. But more importantly, you can save your hard-earned bucks and be privy to the real deal, as super soul singer Sharon Jones picks up the slack. And in more intimate venues!
After releasing their third LP together, 100 Days, 100 Nights (TMT Review), this year, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings rendered Winehouse all but useless (or was that her junkie escapades?) by proving that we don't quite need neo-soul when the real shit is still around. Backing band The Dap-Kings, who brassed up 100 Days, 100 Nights with flavor as well as made Winehouse's Back to Black the studio-slick treat it is, will be in tow for Jones' jaunt through the cold months. Fortunately for them, the group will likely miss most of the snow season as they travel Florida, California, and Texas, even taking a week to rock the high seas on the sixth edition of the Jam Cruise -- the floating, six-day music festival featuring 29 artists on a cruise from Florida to Cozumel, Mexico -- scheduled to begin January 4.
You can also hear Jones on the upcoming soundtrack for the spankin' new Denzel Washington vehicle Great Debaters. Don't worry though; something about "fish in a barrel" is going to stop me from discussing the film's title any further, but let's just say a synonym for "great" could've made the movie a whole lot funnier. I know, I know, here are the dates:
