By Mark Plotnick
Photos: Jim Summaria
Melody Angel - SPACE, Evanston, March 8th, 2025
By Mark Plotnick
Photos: Jim Summaria
March 8th marked International Women’s Day and whether by coincidence or choice, the talent mavens at SPACE hit the jackpot with Chicago’s own Melody Angel. The multi-instrumentalist singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and actor speaks to the struggles of Black women in society and their quest to achieve equality. She does it in many ways, but tonight, her music did the talking.
This was her first concert of 2025. As such, the multi-faceted performer unleashed a volcano of pent-up energy that manifested itself in her singing, guitar playing and stage presence. By the end of her twelve-song set, this generational talent was emotionally and physically drained, but with a look of relief and satisfaction. The Columbia College graduate confessed, “Thanks for the energy in this room…I really needed this.” And her fans did too, particularly at a venue that offers close proximity to performers and exceptional live sound.
The Color Purple
When Melody, the skateboarding, Bloom High School student, turned fifteen, Melody’s mom and mentor – Stephanie Crystal – went to a pawn shop and bought her daughter a purple Fender Stratocaster – the same guitar she performed with tonight. Melody told me, “It’s a Mexican-built Strat upgraded with noiseless pickups – couldn’t afford an American built model.” As for the hue, was Stephanie Crystal thinking of Alice Walker’s novel (and eventual movie) The Color Purple?
The body of her axe displayed several musical influences along with the word “RESIST.” An “old soul” lives inside this Millennial’s earthly body. Her musical alchemy blends old school funk, rhythm ‘n’ blues, soul, gospel, hard rock and Chicago blues to create something all her own and that appeals to diverse audiences.
Showtime
Throughout her twelve-song set, we heard a wide range of influences including Jimi Hendrix and his Electric Church music, Prince, Otis Rush (a cousin of Melody’s mom) and other Chicago West Side bluesmen, Big Mama Thorton, Lizzie Douglas, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Stevie Ray Vaughan, CeCe Winans and Mahalia Jackson. And Mom’s influence, too.
Speaking of mom, Stephanie Crystal looked elegant in her black sequined top as she contributed song-enhancing backup vocals and bits of percussion with a headless tambourine. The bond between these women of different generations was clear.
This electrifying performer kicked off her set with an old African American spiritual titled “Hold On” (aka “Gospel Plow”). With her mom’s accompaniment, Melody solemnly sang a cappella “Hold on, just a little while longer, everything will be alright.” The lyrics were sung with an urgency, despite its early nineteenth century origin.
The audience was then transported from the church of God to the church of Jimi Hendrix with the classic “Hey Joe.” For music trivia fans, there are an estimated 1,800 versions but few are more stirring than Jimi and Melody’s renditions.
While less flamboyant and flashy than Hendrix, the versatile guitarist captured many of the underappreciated elements of Jimi’s playing such as fills, harmonics and syncopated rhythms.
To capture his guitar tones, her pedalboard was fitted with a Dunlop Cry Baby mini Wah, Uni-Vibe® replicating DryBell Vibe Machine and a BOSS Blues Driver. At times, the guitarist appeared to channel Hendrix through facial contortions: eyes closed, lips puckered and head tilted sideways with a swiveling motion.
The Band
There’s nowhere to hide in a three-piece rock outfit. Her crack rhythm section enabled the star performer to do what she does best. On five-string Sire bass was Will Howard, a well-traveled and accomplished musician (www.Willgroove2.com ). On drums was the rock steady Aaron “Memphis” Smith (visit Aaron on LinkedIn) who grew up in church playing gospel music. There was an easy chemistry between the three.
The Columbia College graduate (she’s that too) then informed her fans, “I’m not going to tell you who this next song is about” but then chuckled and said, “Oh yes I will.” She launched into a series of funky, chunky guitar chords and sang…
“Yes I loved you deeply. Yes I loved you completely. Yes I let you keep me foolish.
Yes it was me who let you do this. I let you lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie.”
While taking some responsibility for her lover’s deception, you could hear the healing nature of the song appropriately titled “I Let You Lie,” from her 2021 album She Black. Melody explained in a prior interview, “Music is healing…not just for the people who are listening, but for the people who are creating the music.”
One of the muscular (she was a personal trainer) musician’s most potent weapons is vocal range, intonation and delivery – from her soulful middle register to heavenly falsettos and vibrato achieved by a slight wavering of the vocal chords.
Who Needs A Predetermined Setlist?
Prior to her performance, photographer Jim Summaria took a photo of two playlists resting onstage. It served as my cheat sheet. But prior to the start of her fourth song, she told the audience, “I feel my music playlist in real time. It’s more fun.” So much for my cheat sheet!
Next up was a song about Melody’s first big love in junior high school and the first time she was cheated on. “Say It Ain’t So”- from the album Angels and Melodies - had a Stevie Ray Vaughan blues shuffle feel. During her solo, Melody mouthed her guitar notes, feeling the emotion in every chicken pickin’ lick and string bend. She ended the song with a leap reminiscent of the Who’s Pete Townshend (see the cover photo of our book ‘70s Chicagoland Rock Concerts).
With the room’s energy high, the guitarist wasted no time launching her overdriven guitar into a soulful rocker titled “Down to the River” from her 2023 album Indie Blues Girl. There was gravity in the song’s lyrics and imagery:
“They want to take me down, down, down to the river, where no one can see.
They want to take my life because they envy me.”
During the song, Melody prowled the stage and “mugged” with her bassist as the trio laid down an infectious groove. Melody rocked her wah-wah pedal for a “wacka-wacka” rhythm and “talking” effect reminiscent of funk rhythm masters Freddie Stone (Sly and the Family Stone), Nile Rodgers (Chic) and Jimmy Nolen (James Brown).
The song about racial prejudice ended with the songster’s growling, defiant proclamation:
“You can’t take me down…I won’t go down…I can’t go down!”
Thank You
“I want to thank you all for coming out tonight. You see, when I first started out, nobody came out to see me. Thanks again for coming out.” In past remarks, she explained that there was resistance from the traditional blues community looking for purism. The record industry told her she was not a sellable thing…a Black woman playing electric guitar. “I just fight against it and am still on stages that I can’t believe I’m on.”
Angel pulled another song from her LP Angels and Melodies. On “Just Enough,” she roamed the stage and locked in with her nimble-fingered bassist while percussion master Aaron “Memphis” Smith set the table for a Jimi Hendrix meets Bruno Mars rave-up. The song featured a series of rapidly delivered lyrics that alternated with a series of funky, percussive chords.
Midway through, the song took an exquisite mood turn. Her compositions avoid predictability but retain accessibility by planting hooks in her melodies, instrumentation and rhythms. Despite their complexity, many of her songs qualify as radio-friendly singles.
After a James Brown reference, she wiped her brow with a cloth and jumped into a Hendrix-plays “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”- rocker titled “Wild Child.”
“You can’t forget her. You can’t resist her. You can’t outpace her. She’s just a wild child.”
Stephanie Crystal was a body in motion…swaying her arms and hips while contributing sublime backup vocals and timely percussion with her headless tambourine.
You Tube, VHS Tapes and Big Mama Thornton
Before introducing the song “Nobody’s Ball and Chain,” Melody confessed, “I’m grateful to play music. It saved me.” She explained that Big Mama Thornton’s song “Ball and Chain” was the first blues song she learned from You Tube.
As the audience laughed, Melody joked, “Don’t make fun of me for being on You Tube. Sure, I’m grateful for all those VHS tapes…but I grew up on You Tube, you know!” More laughter – but it was with her and not at her. Big difference.
Well into her set, the SPACE faithful got their first taste of a traditional twelve bar blues. Recorded first in 1959 by Little Walter, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” put the spotlight on Melody Angel’s lead guitar playing. There’s a Chitlin’ Circuit rawness and edginess to her playing. It’s a guitar style vastly different from legendary British blues guitarists like Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor whose phrasings are more fluid and lyrical.
Koko Taylor Time
Koko Taylor, who reigned as Chicago’s “Queen of the Blues,” released one of her signature songs in 1978 titled “I’m a Woman,” adapted from Bo Diddley’s “I’m a Man.”
Melody sang Koko’s song with conviction while highlighting her “future of the blues” guitar chops. At the song’s conclusion, the singer proudly belted out the words, “Oh Yea”…Oh Yea”… Oh Yea.” The audience erupted. Great way to end a show…
The Best For Last
…but not quite yet. “I’ve got one more.” That one more was “Outside My Radius,” about feeling trapped in the everyday life of the Ghetto. The song overflowed with pain and desperation. Tension was built around a slow, ascending pattern of minor chords that eventually gave way to a mournful, smoldering guitar solo.
To close the song, this powerhouse musician “emptied the tank.” Seemingly in a trance, she pleaded and begged with vocal bursts: “I got to get out!” “I need you!” “I’ll try to forget you!” “I’m going to make love to you!” It felt like an exorcism. A soul cleansing. There was a look of relief on her face.
Just one more example of her personal blues where giving in to cynicism and despair is not an option. The music is her medicine. As explained in an earlier interview, “My blues obviously aren’t traditional because I was influenced by other genres. My thing is to be true to myself. My music will always be influenced by the blues.”
Afterthoughts
During her last gig at Rosas’s on December 13, 2024, she told fans, “Onstage is my favorite place in the whole world.” It was more than obvious tonight following a three-month hiatus.
Following a stirring one hour and fifty-minute set of Melody Angel “Electric Church Music,” I mind-tripped back to two songs recorded by influences James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. In 1968, The Godfather of Soul and thirty children from Watts sang “Say it Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud.” A year earlier, Jimi Hendrix released the LP Axis Bold as Love that included the song “If Six Were Nine.” Jimi rapped, “White collared conservative flashing down the street, pointing their plastic finger at me. They're hoping soon my kind will drop and die, but I'm gonna wave my freak flag high, high. Wave on, wave on.”
On this night at SPACE, Melody’s Blackness was proud and loud as she waved her freak flag high!
Wave on Melody, wave on.
The music of Melody Angel is available on iTunes, Spotify and her website at https://www.melodyangelmusic.com.
Her next area gig is scheduled for May 17th, 2025, at Reggie’s Music Joint in Chicago. If you love Australia, she’ll be playing at the famed Byron Bay Bluesfest from April 17th through the 20th.
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Jim Summaria began professionally photographing rock concerts in 1973 at the age of 19 when he became the staff photographer for the Chicago rock concert promoter Flip Side Productions. Jim's photos have been published in numerous books, magazines and CDs. His rock ‘n’ roll photos have been viewed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum and Hall of Fame on Rt.66 and the Grammy Awards. Jim and writer Mark Plotnick co-authored the books Classic Rock: Photographs From Yesterday & Today and the October 2024 release ‘70s Chicagoland Rock Concerts, available on Amazon.
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