Journal27

(8/23/02) The Bay Area's summer dance schedule shifted into high gear mid-August as we were treated to two weeks of non-stop Cajun and zydeco music to please all tastes. From the funky urban-flavored zydeco of Houston's of Nooney and the Zydeco Floaters who made their debut at Eagle's Hall in Alameda to Queen Ida's tex-mex seasoned zydeco to Andre Thierry's versatile and virtuoso accordion played, to the Zydeco Flames crowd-pleasing performances, zydeco lovers had multiple occasions to get out and party. Cajun music lovers weren't overlooked either as Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys returned to the the Bay Area after over a year's absence to play 4 gigs. Local bands Courtableau and Tee Fee added more to this month's musical menu.

On Friday, Aug. 16 Nooney & the Zydeco Floaters funked

it up at Alameda. Nooney is a dynamic performer and his band has a nice way of interlacing their vocals. Hailing from Houston, Tx, they have an urban sound that adds splashes of hip-hop & reggae into the music. On Sunday evening the band played again at a last minute booking at the Monte Carlo in San Francisco. I wasn't there, but I was told their set there started out on the bluesy side and then progressed into more zydeco as dancers showed up.

On Saturday, the Berkeley Farmer's Market put on their 13th Annual Cajun & More Festival. This well-attended event featured local bands Courtableu, the Zydeco Flames & Tee Fee Swamp Boogie Band. Meanwhile in Stockton, Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic, who now reside in Houston, came home to celebrate Gary Thibodeaux' 50th birthday at Fats, & played again the following day, at the 23 Club in Brisbane. Andre sounded terrific, zoning out while playing amazing riffs on his accordion, and showcasing his maturing singing style.

Also on Sunday, Queen Ida played at the San Mateo County Fair. I was told a large crowd turned out to listen to this elder stateswomen of zydeco and that she played her good time music with her normal charm and grace.

On Wednesday, I went to see Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys play at Ashkenaz, who put on a terrific show. This virtuoso Cajun band can play waltzes so sweet they make your teeth ache. Along with the two-steps and blues, they add swamp pop and straight up rock n roll during their varied sets. The entire set was high energy and danceable. A big surprise was when Kevin Wimmer from Balfa Toujours joined the band for the second set. We got treated to several twin fiddle tunes by Wimmer and David Greely, and later, some exquisite triple fiddle numbers when Steve Riley joined in. Call it fiddle heaven! The band has added a fine version of "Pa Janvier" to their show recently, as well as Sam Broussard's catchy "Bonne Reve", which had the crowd singing along to its chorus. Lots of folks stayed to the very end, and then some, as the crowd demanded, and the band came back for, an encore.

SRMP performed a 'back porch' acoustic set at The Music Store in San Francisco on Thursday nite. And this was a real treat, since outside of Louisiana, we rarely have the opportunity to hear Cajun or zydeco bands sit down and play their music, speak about it in a cultural and historical context and even better, pull out some quieter pieces for performance that don't work well in a dance hall. The Music Store was a nice place for this event as it was not large & you could get close to the band when you wanted to listen and move a bit further back on the wooden floor if you wanted to dance. One musical highlight was a breathtaking acapella rendition by Riley, Greely & Broussard of a Creole song about a prisoner who has been sentenced to hard labor sung in gorgeous 3-part harmony.

On Friday night, the band played the big blowout dance at Eagles Hall in Alameda, where locals Will Scarlett and Agi & Nathan Banne joined them on stage for a few songs. The crowd was treated to a wide-ranging show which included old time Cajun songs showcasing Steve's accordion playing, to some fine twin fiddle tunes featuring David and Steve (and later Agi & David), to a repeat of the previous nights acapella ballad to swamp pop featuring David on the saxophone to some Cajun-tinged rock highlighted by Sam's soaring guitar riffs. Crowd pleasers included the Lawrence Walker medley, "Pa Janvier", Sam Broussard's "Bonne Reve" & 'Uncle Bud". On Saturday the band played to a nice sized crowd at the Powerhouse Brewing Co in Sebastopol.

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