Lisa Fischer thanked The Rolling Stones for the "beautiful memories" – during her show ‘Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton’ at the Barbican Centre on Friday (20.05.16) night.
The ‘Gimme Shelter’ vocalist, who is best known as the woman who sings her heart out with the legendary rock band, took to the stage in London for the first of two solo concerts in the UK and expressed her thanks to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts for the times she shared with them as their back up singer.
Lisa, 57, sang hits from her days touring with the British group and the likes of Tina Turner, Sting, and Luther Vandross, and told the packed auditorium: "Spent my years getting lost in these beautiful memories…. I’m thankful for Mick, Keith, Ronnie, and Charlie. Everything we all do leaves an imprint on our hearts, so I’m just thankful to have those memories."
Earlier in the night, the incredible singer opened with a smooth, psychedelic soul rendition of Amy Grant’s track ‘Breath of Heaven’.
She continued in a similar tone with songs ‘Don’t Ever Let Anybody Drag Your Spirit’ by Eric Bibb, and a Railroad Earth cover of ‘Bird In A House’ and energised the room, when she encouraged the audience to sing along with her to the lyrics "If you wanna be free" and chant "Freedom", which they did.
Up next was a Led Zeppelin cover of the 1971 hit ‘Rock and Roll’ and the crowd roared when she shouted to the drummer "spank them drums".
Lisa was flanked by talented Spanish guitarist JC Maillard and double bass player Aidan Connor and thoroughly enjoyed herself as she danced alongside them and howled and screeched in perfect pitch and tune during their instrumentals, when the mood took her over.
Elsewhere, the vocal powerhouse used not one, but two, microphones to get the most out of her incredible range when she sang a rendition of Little Willie John’s ‘Fever’ and swirled them around her as she searched for the perfect sound, and found it.
Lisa entered the crowd during the song and they laughed as she teased she wanted "a lap to sit on" and got enthusiastic members out of their seats to dance.
She stormed through an impressive cover of Robert Palmer’s ‘Addicted To Love’ and her solo 1991 hit ‘How Do I Ease The Pain’, before she said good night and thanked "every soul" in the room for being there.
However, the night couldn’t end without an encore and a rendition of ‘Gimme Shelter’.
Lisa, who stars in the Oscar-winning 2013 docu-film ‘Twenty Feet From Stardom’, was supported by country singer Ethan Jones and will perform on Saturday (21.05.16).
Lisa Fischer thanks The Rolling Stones for the ‘memories’
