It Was An Evilicious Night, Indeed!
I am biased when it comes to Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson; she is a friend, a cousin of a life-long friend, and a great singer. Still, I say without reservation that she is a consummate entertainer who is worth your time to see. She performed her brand of jazz/blues/soul music recently at The Extended Play Sessions at the Fallout Shelter.
Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
For this show, she had an all-star band with her who had not played together in at least ten years. We were certainly a lucky audience!
The Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson Band
I first saw Michelle perform twenty or more years ago at a free concert in a Boston park (when the city had them in various parks every night of the week) and was extremely impressed then. I lost track of her but about four years ago I discovered that she’s my friend’s cousin (I have known this particular friend since fourth or fifth grade) and started following her career again.
Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
The all-star band I mentioned was Scotty Shetler on saxophones, bass clarinet, and mandolin; Mike Mele on guitar; Ken Clark on Hammond B3; and Zac Casher on drums.
Scotty Shetler
Mike Mele
Ken Clark
Zac Casher
Michelle is a student of the great female singers such as Etta James and sings their songs as well as original songs with great emotion that is visible on her face and in her movements.
Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
She talked about a time in their career where they felt like ‘acoustic perfume’: when a band is playing, generally in a bar, and the audience treats them like background noise. I certainly hope they do not experience much of that any more (although I have seen Michelle perform at the type of place where bands are treated like acoustic perfume and she generally commands their attention after a short while).
Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
Ken Clark
Scotty Shetler
Mike Mele
Zac Casher
What a hot night was had by all that evening! Now that she is playing around more frequently (including a gig at Scullers on June 30th with this same great band – buy tickets here), you have no excuse not to see her!
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- Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
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- Scotty Shetler
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- Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
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- Mike Mele
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- Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
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- Ken Clark
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- Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
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- Scotty Shetler
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- Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
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- Mike Mele
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- Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
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- Ken Clark
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- Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
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- Scotty Shetler
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- Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
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- Scotty Shetler, Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
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- Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
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- Michelle ‘Evil Gal’ Willson
Posted on June 24, 2016, in concert photos, concert reviews, music, Uncategorized and tagged blues singer, boston, concert photos, concert review, Evil Gal, Extended Play Sessions, jazz, jazz singer, Ken Clark, Michelle Willson, Mike Mele, Scott Shetler, The Fallout Shelter, Zac Casher. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
suze reviews the blues 
Suuuuuuuze – thank you for such amazing photos and for your generous and kind words. I’m so grateful to know you. ❤
The feeling is mutual Evilena!
Great review. You captured the essence of a very fine night with Ms. Evil Gal, both in your marvelous writing and your pics. I feel like I wuz there…. And I can see I missed a good one. Evilena puts her heart and soul into the music and it comes out every pore!
Thanks Debra! You’re right, her heart and soul oozes from every pore.
Michelle Willson is hands-down my absolute favorite blues singer. I first saw Michelle perform live in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1997. I was absolutely transfixed by her ability to take the stage in what first appeared to be a rather sedate New England setting and transform the energy of the room into something resembling a sweat-soaked Mississippi juke joint full of frenzied dancers. Now that I actually live down South and have seen the power of Clarksdale first-hand, it makes me respect the dynamic show Michelle puts on even more. Thank God for social media that allows me to continue to see her so far from home!