So far in 2011, I have been to some great shows. While we dealt with a personal tragedy at home, Stacey (my wife) stayed understanding of my need to let loose at an occasional show. I didn't keep up with posting these shows and write ups but, will give brief run down of some of them:
* Leo Nocentelli at Space-This show started off great and Leo played many of the Meters classics that I love (which makes sense as a founding member of the Meters). Leo put the gas on but never took the petal off. As my friend Mike said during the show "if Leo was a chef, it would be an all Habenero menu" While this may seem appealing, we needed to get a little space between the heat he laid down. A highlight of if the night was Leo's bass player, who played a 7 string bass and made it sound like a mixture of piano, guitar and bass. I am glad I went and had a good time overall
*Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Space- WOW!!!!! These guys blew my mind! I have been listening to them for a few years but this was my first time seeing them. No set list to report (too late for that) and it is hard to express in a blog that feeling you get when you see this type of band but these guys gave me that deep down good feeling. Each musician was brilliant on their own but when they worked together, they created that NOLA sound like no other can. DDBB created the NOLA brass band sound as we know it today. The biggest highlight of the night was getting "Dirty Old Man" Roger Lewis out for the encore of Dirty Old Man. This was my first time hearing/seeing this jam and it didn't not disappoint. By the end of the song, there were a few women on stage to "shake it, don't break it". I don't want to miss this again! Lastly, it would be a shame not to mention the tuba player, Kirk Joseph. I kept looking on stage for a bass player because there were some solid bass lines coming out of this band. What I came to realize is that this tuba player has all the agility of a bass player and laid bass lines with the best of them.
In this same show John Cleary opened up. He was fantastic as well. All I heard about him is that he plays with John Scofield....instant credibility in my mind. Cleary stayed at his piano and gave us a treat with his deep soulful voice Alhtough he seemed like pure NOLA, hearing his English accent, one realizes that it is his sole that is from NOLA but his body is from the UK. This guy is an relatively unknown great musician and a real treat.
*Rebirth Brass Band at Space- We can keep this one simple. They were solid. While not the Dirty Dozen, they are vibrant and a true NOLA classic. They kept it hot and dirty. Tunes like Do WatchaWanna and Feel Like Funkin' It Up and covers of Casanova and Used to Lov Her didn't fail to bring a smile to my face.
*Warren Haynes Band at The Park West-This one was game changer. Over the last 3 years, I have become a huge GOVT Mule fan so it scares me to admit that this band may be better than the Mule. While I don't know the band that well, Ron Johnson (from Tiny Universe) on bass and Ron Holloway on sax were stand outs. The show played mostly stuff from Warren's latest album which were full of soul. A few highlights (who am I kidding....WHB is a highlight reel) were Soulshine-Tupelo Honey-Soulshine and second set solo acoustic Roller Derby Queen (Jim Groce). I NEED MORE!!!!!
*Steve Miller Band at The Chicago Theatre- Who doesn't lik Steve Miller? He has something for eveyone. I have seen him about 7 times before while he was opening up for the Greatful Dead. He was always fun but never mind blowing(due to the large venues). This night he was very good. This played like a "best of" but, let's face it, Steve Miller's history is like a "best of". It was a real treat having Sunny Charles (leader of the Checkmates) on stage singing back up and leading with songs like Tramp (by Otis Redding). This was not the type of show that blows your mind and leaves you drooling wondering what just happened to you. We had fun and enjoyed ourselves for a few hours listening to new takes on some Steve Miller classics.
So far so good. It has been a fun year for music up unto this point
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