14th Annual New Orleans by the Bay

(June 24, 2002)   Some Bay Area Cajun & zydeco dancers get cranky now when they go to the annual New Orleans by the Bay shindig put on by Bill Graham Presents at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View.  The parking,  food and water are expensive,  one stage is now located in a  blacktopped parking lot,  the number and variety of Cajun and zydeco as well as other New Orleans bands is vastly curtailed compared to prior years and their sets are short,  Cafe du Monde is no longer brought in to provide beignets and Cafe au Lait  and the security is overzealous compared to the more mellow festivals we've become accustomed to around the country.  Nonetheless, if you can find your way past the logistics and memories of NOBTB's past  and focus your attention on the music of the year present, you can still have a great time there.  I really enjoyed the bands I saw, which included  BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet and Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie,  plus bluesy Kenny Neal from Baton Rouge,  soul man Taj Mahal, South Africa's dynamic  Mahotella Queens, Mitch Woods playing  boogie woogie, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir  and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.  In addition, the local Cajun community was represented by the Cajun Coyotes (photo-right), Diana Castillo providing dance lessons, and Chef Donald Link demonstrating  Cajun and Creole cooking techniques.

Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie played a 45 minute festival set each day on the Congo Square stage to enthusiastic crowds.  Songs were shorter than in his typical club set, and it seemed to me that the festival performance placed  more emphasis on the rock & roll guitar stylings of Lee Tedrow, which served to pump up the non-CZ crowd and draw them into action.  Geno as always was his smiling charismatic self. Pops added a funky bass line,  Caveman played rubboard and Curly kept that rock steady beat.  Strong vocals and three part harmonies served to enhance the mix.  This is one tight seasoned band . And although it was the beginning of summer and 70 degrees or so outside at Shoreline both days, Geno appeared on stage in a thick jacket - I guess his blood is not used to our Northern California summers!  

Michael Doucet  

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet are perennial  favorites at NOBTB and with good reason.  BeauSoleil are consummate musicians and band-leader Michael Doucet is not only a  unique vocalist and fiddler extradinaire but also a key interpreter and popularizer of his Cajun traditions.  In all the many years I've been watching this band perform,  Doucet always makes sure to introduce and translate or interpret their French songs.  Then he and the band cut loose, playing traditional two-steps as well as tunes which blend these traditions with  world

music influences and rhythms. Jimmy Breaux's accordion playing seems  effortless  as he changes its color and tone depending on the song... taking you from down home Louisiana to a French bistro to a gypsy camp.  Standing in the background is Billy Ware who lends texture to the band's distinctive sound by playing triangle, rubboard, triangle and other assorted  percussion instruments. David Doucet plays acoustic guitar and shares vocals with his brother,  Al Tharp plays the goofiest stand up bass you've ever seen and Tommy Alesi lays down the drum foundation.  It is a tasty, enormously appealing mix and I've lost count of how many people have told me they were initially drawn to and later hooked on Cajun, and from there zydeco music, after first listening to Beausoleil (including myself). 

One thing I really like about NOBTB is the opportunity it presents to  sample new music.  I always discover some great music this way, and this year's festival was no exception.  Nattily attired blues guitarist Kenny Neal, who hails from Baton Rouge, has  a voice that sounds like a cross between Joe Cocker and Louis Armstrong, and a smile wide enough to span the Golden Gate.  He  put on a terrific show both days of the festival.   

Sunday mornings at NOBTB have always been spent celebrating the spirit with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and this year was no exception.  To quote Marc Cohen: "And I sang with all my might, And she said--
"Tell me are you a Christian child?" And I said "Ma'am I am tonight". 

South Africa's  Mahotella Queens,  combine traditional African tribal music with jazz and American music influences and put on an explosive stage show, with catchy melodies and energetic dancing.  

"Call me Mr Pitiful", Taj Mahal sang during his encore.  I don't think so!  This legendary blues and soul man wowed the crowd as NOBTB drew to a close on Sunday.   Spanning several decades worth of material, the crowd went wild as Taj oo-poo-pee-dooed and we did the bump (!) through his good time set.  

Lagniappe:   I had backstage access during this festival, and in case you ever wondered what's hidden behind the stage at Shoreline, here's the scoop:   buffet kitchen with a covered outside dining area,  an outside  shaded living room type area with couches, lots of private dressing rooms , business offices, a basketball hoop, massage rooms for the artists, and showers in the rest rooms.  Probably doesn't compensate for being away from home as a full-time job, but pretty darn nice compared to other venues I've seen, nonetheless.