SFBAYou.com
Providing Cajun & Zydeco information on the Web since 1995
©Andrea D. Rubinstein, 1995-2007
Visit my new Amazon Store for Cajun, Creole & Zydeco music, book & video recommendations (and help support this website).
Bay Area Calendar
(maintained by Ellen Papper)
This website is created and maintained by Andrea Rubinstein.
I've been taking Juice Plus+ since 1996.
|
SFBAYou WebSite Design Services and Consulting for Cajun & Zydeco websites |
©Andrea Rubinstein 1999-2000
Bay Area … Count Your Blessings
(3/19/2000) Sometimes it doesn’t get any better than this. In the past fortnight I have attended four incredible and very different dance events in the Bay Area. Even as I travel afar to festivals to dance, I still get a jolt of surprise at how good it can be right at home.
First, we have Eagle's Hall. Last Friday night, Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Road Runners, from Houston, but originally from the SW Louisiana triangle (the area defined by Lafayette, Eunice & Opelousas), played a set that can best be described John Delafose meets the Grateful Dead. Leroy played both traditional and original compositions of extended length, which were filled with soaring guitar solos. It was very danceable, and very interesting musically. This large hall was packed, the energy in the crowd was high and no one was sitting. Dana DeSimone and Louisiana Sue deserve credit and our thanks for bringing Leroy and other bands from Louisiana to the Bay Area on a regular monthly basis. (Twice a month would be even better… but I'm not complaining!)
Next we have Ashkenaz. This club, which caters to dancers, has recently upgraded their sound system, and it shows. On Saturday night the Savoy Doucet Cajun band, which features Michael Doucet on fiddle, Marc Savoy on accordion and Marc's wife Ann, on guitar, played a very traditional set to a packed and sweltering house, and sounded terrific .
.
With his band, Beausoleil, Michael takes Cajun music, and adds a rock and roll and world music sensibility to the mix, but with Savoy Doucet the music is what you would hear on a back porch in Louisiana, alternating two steps with waltzes. Michael is a fiddle virtuoso and has a yodel in his vocals, which are both sweet-and -sour and and utterly entrancing. Marc is an accordion maker, and keeper of the traditional music flame - the Saturday morning jam sessions held in his music shop in Eunice are legendary. Ann is the author of an excellent book on Cajun music and member of the all-female Cajun band, the Magnolia Sisters. These three individuals have been instrumental in all their musical incarnations in reviving and popularizing Cajun music while respecting their heritage. The evening was only marred by its very success, as the capacity crowd steamed up and heated up the room. It felt like a sauna all night.
Also, we have Bobby's Back Door. This Richmond venue hosts a regular Thursday night dance that alternates local bands and features a Louisiana kitchen. This week, Gator Beat, a band that to my ears holds up the style of zydeco music popularized by Queen Ida, played a set that featured many original tunes. The dance floor was crowded and it was a good night for dancing.
Finally, there is my favorite club in the Bay Area… Demarco's 23 Club in
Brisbane. Recently dances have started up there again, and the plan is to have
one Sunday dancethere a month.. This Sunday featured a potluck to
welcome a new dancer, Lorraine, into the dance scene, organized by Jack Gallant.
The food was incredible, and music was
provided by Danny Poullard accompanied by Marty Jara on fiddle, Eric
Thompson on guitar, Jonathan on rubboard and David "Killer" Hymowitz
on drums. The band sounded terrific, a sizable crowd showed up (I would estimate
about 75-100 people) and community spirit permeated the room.
DeMarco's has good sound, a nice dance floor, lots of tables, friendly waitresses who remember what you drink, easy parking, and a long history of holding Cajun and zydeco dances (among those who have played there are John Delafose, Lynn August, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas, Geno Delafose, and Sheryl Cormier). It is a special place.
Outside of Louisiana, I don't believe there is anywhere else in the country, you can pack in as much quality dancing as we can in the Bay Area. Sometimes, all you have to do to have a good time is look in your own backyard and count your blessings.
Boudreaux and Thibodeaux Jokes
(told by Marc Savoy and Michael Doucet at the Freight and Salvage on 3/20 (as recorded by Mark Philbrick).
1. Boudreaux and Thibodeaux lost their shrimp boat in a flood, so they
were forced to go shrimping in a little old pirogue (skiff) that washed
up on Boudreaux's lawn in the same flood. As usual, they weren't
catching anything, and were gettin' mighty hungry, so Boudreaux starts
hunting around in the pirogue for something to eat. He finds a lantern
kind of thing, and rubs it. Out, of course, comes a genie. Genie
says
"I give you boys one wish". Thibodeaux says "what, we
supposed to get
three?"
Genie: For y'all, only one.
Thib: Boudreaux, I dunno, moi, you rub de lamp, you make de wish. Jes
get us sumtin' we can eat.
Boudreaux studies on it for a while, and looks at the genie, and then
pipes up "I want you to turn the whole Gulf of Mexico into Pabst Blue
Ribbon". Genie looks at him funny, says "alright Boudreaux, you
get
your wish". Lo and behold, the Gulf of Mexico turns a pale,
carbonated
yellow. Boudreaux and Thibodeaux start lapping up the gulf, until
Thibodeaux turns to Boudreaux and says "Boudreaux, you stupid. Now we
gonna hafta pee in de boat."
2. Boudreaux had hisself a good bidness raising monkeys and selling 'em
down to de zoo in N'Awlins. One muggy day, he loaded his van full o'
monkeys, and headed east on I-10 to make his month's delivery. 'Bout
halfway 'cross the Atchafalaya bridge, Boudreaux's van throws a rod.
There's Boudreaux, stuck out in the middle of the swamp with a van full
of chattering monkeys. After a spell, who should come along but
Thibodeaux in his old Ford pickup. Boudreaux flags Thibodeaux down and
says "Listen Thibodeaux, I was takin' dese here monkeys to the zoo, and
my van busted. Can ya help me out?" Thibodeaux says,
"Sure".
Boudreaux says, "Bon, here's 50 bucks, take dese monkeys to the zoo, and
I'll wait here for help". So T and B load the monkeys into the
pickup,
and Thibodeaux putters on down the road. Hours go by, and then more
hours. Finally, Boudreaux sees Thibodeaux's truck headed westbound, and
manages to flag him down again. While crossing the median, he notices
that the monkeys are still loaded in the truck. When he gets to
Thibodeaux, he says "Thibodeax, you was supposed to take dese monkeys to
the zoo. What you doin'?" Thibodeaux replies "We had some
money left
after the zoo, so now we goin' to de beach".
3. Boudreaux, Thibodeaux, and Fontenot are driving de back roads round
'bout Mamou, when they spy a filling station with a sign "Free Sex with
Fillup". Fontenot says "Whoa, get a load of dat. We need
any gas?" It
just so happens that they do, so they pull and in tell the attendant to
fill 'er up. As they pay, Thibodeaux asks the attendant "What about
this here Free Sex". The attendant takes one look at our heroes,
frowns, and says "Ok, I'm thinking of a number between one and three.
You have to guess it before you get any". Boudreaux, who's driving,
goes first - "One".
Attendant: Naw, that ain't it. How 'bout you in de middle?
Thib: Mebbe Two?
Attendant: Naw, that ain't it either. You?
Fontenot: One?
Attendant: You boys is stupid, you lose. Get on outa de station and
make room for dem other folks what's comin'.
Boudreaux drives off, and they ride in silence for a while. Finally,
Thibodeaux pipes up "There weren't no Free Sex - it were just a game".
Fontenot responds "No, that ain't so. My wife played yesterday, and
she
won twice
Mardi Gras 2000
It was another case of too much to do... Mardi Gras in Southwest Louisiana is an extraordinary event that is appealing whether your interests are musical, culinary, spectacle or cultural, and sometimes all things at once. This, my second visit to SWLA during the Mardi Gras festivities, exceeded even my raised expectations.
Attending Mardi Gras involves, first of all, making choices. You can't be everywhere at once, so you make your decision, enjoy the moment, and then, when you run into someone you know, you find out where they were, and what they did. The party is so big and so spread out that there are some folks I only ran into once in five days.
Among the bands playing this Mardi Gras were Chris Ardoin and Double Clutchin', Keith Frank & the Soileau Band, Sean Ardoin and Zydecool, Boozoo Chavis, Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws, J. Paul and the Zydeco Newbreeds, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Paul Daigle and Cajun Gold, File, Brad Randall, JJ Callier, Donna Angelle, Zydeco Force, Lil Pookie, Creole Zydeco Farmers, Jo Jo Reed, Horace Trajan Zydeco & countless more. The venues ranged from bands playing on sidewalks on the streets of Mamou to the grand stage of the Habibi Temple in Lake Charles, to the zydeco clubs like Hamilton's, Richard's, Slim's Y Ki-Ki, and El Sido's, to the Cajun supper clubs and dance halls like Randol's and Whiskey River to jam sessions on boats floating through the bayou and the Savoy's music store to house parties with the Williams' family (as in Sid and Nathan) to community centers in towns so small they are not on the map and have no town signs (look for a lot of cars on the side of the road) to formal Mardi Gras balls to street stages in towns like Iota, Mamou and Eunice to concrete covered pavillions at the end of a trail ride and everything in between. (No I did not go to them all... although on some days we attended 6 or 7 different events).
On my list of highlights:
The Zydeco Breakfast at Cafe des Amis, Saturday morning: Actually, unless you arrived early, it was almost impossible to get breakfast... but it was possible to dance between the tables to Jean-Pierre in a minimalist way... not too much room between the tables, and you wanted to avoid knocking over anyone's coffee. Dancing to zydeco at 9:30AM seemed a perfectly reasonable way to start off the weekend, and it was fun to begin the reunion there with your dancing friends from all over the country.
Hanging out at Whatbayou in Opelousas, Saturday afternoon: I'd heard about Blake and Cheryl Castille's Louisiana crafts and music store for years, but never made the trip there. What a mistake. The store has wonderful local artwork and seems to be a mecca for CZ enthusiasts passing by, which can at least be partially attributed to Cheryl's welcoming presence. The hour I spent there I ran into friends from Sacramento, CA, musicians from the Bay Area, and dancers from Seattle. Driving by a day later there was a jam session going on on the porch. Cheryl also maintains a great website with interviews of musicians, a local calendar, and photos of artwork which you can find at www.whatbayou.com.
Trailride at Leonville with music provided by Step Rideau, Saturday afternoon. This was attended mostly by locals. We have friends who grew up not far from this area and I got to meet some of their school friends and relatives. The music was a little booming and dancing on concrete meant take it easy. I enjoyed seeing all the riders come in at the end of the ride, including my friend Larry (on the horse below).
Keith Frank at Richard's Club, Saturday nite. This was a real surprise: no earplugs required at Richard's this evening and Keith Frank sounded fantastic. Not a lot of chatter between songs, just great driving music and lots of dance partners. I hadn't seen KF for a few trips and I can see once more why he continues to draw the largest crowds.
Mardi Gras Benefit for Senior Center at LSU, Eunice, with Zydeco Force, Monday afternoon. The Mardi Gras event here wins my vote for most charming event of the weekend. About 30 seniors were dressed up in costumes, the King and Queen of the Ball were chosen, and prizes were given in categories that included best male and female dancer and best costume (you had to be over 60 to qualify). Zydeco Force sounded great and had 2 of their childen on stage who were really scene stealers. The little boy on the accordion is only 2 and hammed it up everytime a camera came near him.
Chris Ardoin at the Soileau Community Center, Monday evening. Soileau is a little place just north of Basile so small it is not on any maps and we couldn't find any signs pointing to the town, or marking the town limits. The community there was holding a trail ride, and then a dance with Chris Ardoin, in a room about 20 x 40 ft. Homemade gumbo was included with your admission. Hanging outside before the dance, we were privileged to be taken in by 74 year old Ruby and her sister Louise. They were just amazed that we were there and even more surprised to hear their Mardi Grase event had been listed on the Internet. We were introduced to their children and grandchildren and all the relatives. It was very special to feel their warmth and get invited back next year. As for the dance itself, this was the first time I'd seen Chris Ardoin since he and his brother Sean went their separate ways. To my ears, he sounded as good, if not better, than before. Great accordian playing, terrific vocal harmonies, a good variety of dance tempos and a nice way with the audience. We danced ourselves into a lather.... The only downside to this evening were the huge bugs that invaded the room every time the door opened. The bugs were slow moving, so there was also alot of bug stomping going on all night... Yuck!
Sean Ardoin and Zydecool at Richards, Monday night. I wanted to hear Sean again after first seeing him at his CD release party at Hamilton's last September, and musically, he did not disappoint. His band is much tighter, and his music less dependant on the Double-Clutchin' repetoire, with quite a few original songs worked into the show this evening. The crowd was small, but the dancing was still great.
J Paul and the Zydeco Newbreeds at El-Sido's, late Monday night. Having never seen J Paul I was very interested in seeing him perform. From Texas, he plays a more urban mix of zydeco, blending in hip-hop and long soulful buildups to songs, teasing many of his young fans in the audience into a frenzy. He has a great voice, and strong stage presence, really commanding the stage. As I was listening and dancing to him, it occurred to me that you could see the zydeco tradition evolving again under his influence, taking it the next step further than Beau Jocque and Keith Frank into the urban arena. He is very talented and it will be interesting to watch where he goes with the music.
Iota- (Tee-Mamou) Mardi Gras morning. The Iota Mardi Gras
celebration is a really country Mardi Gras. Along the streets are food and
craft booths. 
A children's tent is set up for the next generation of Cajun musicians.
On a huge stage with raised dance floor high above the crowd played JoJo Reed,
and later Lee Benoit, among others. In the community center, a Cajun band
played throughout the day. I stayed for most of JoJo's set, which drew a
large crowd of dancers, many decked out in costume for the day. JoJo asked
Frisco Freddy on stage to play rubboard and those of us from the SF Bay Area
really enjoyed that.
Eunice Mardi Gras, Tuesday afternoon. We had stopped in
Eunice on Monday for lunch and the town seemed so peaceful. A Cajun band
was set up on the sidewalk and children were dancing in costume to them.
Charming and lowkey. 
By Fat Tuesday however, the town exploded. People were packed in watching
bands who were playing on three stages set up along the main drag. Among
the bands were Horace Trajan playing zydeco, Paul Daigle, and after the parade,
Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys. The Eunice parade was made of
mainly of riders on horseback, all dressed in the traditional fringed costumes
wearing screen masks and capuchons (cone shaped hats) in bright colors.
.
Many of the riders had chickens hanging from their horses, caught during the morning's Courir du Mardi Gras, traditionally for the evening's gumbo. From where I was standing I could hear Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys start playing the traditional Mardi Gras song as the first horseman starting passing by. Steve played a wonderful, traditional set to an enthusiastic crowd of dancers and bystanders in costume
.
Chris Ardoin, El Sido's, Tuesday night. This was the final dance for me of this trip. The sound mix at El Sido's was good and Chris sounded great even as the volume was cranked up. After playing multiple gigs over the holidays, Chris's voice was giving out and he had taken to swallowing honey during the evening to coat his throat and then grimacing from the experience... it was pretty funny. The band was in great spirits and the interaction with the audience was entertaining. The rubboard player had noticed that a dancer had been smiling all night and remarked how happy she looked, then burst out into a quick rendition of "Dont Worry, Be Happy". Later he took a break to dance and pulled Don Walker from Nashville on stage to play the rubboard for him. Zydeco Joe was in the audience dancing with the crowd. I was sorry he didnt have any public gigs scheduled for the weekend - in fact the only disappointment of the weekend for me was not seeing Joe play, since he never gets to the Bay Area.
From a culinary standpoint, aside from street food, I was able to eat in Prejean's (Lafayette), Cafe Des Amis (Breaux Bridge) , Nicks (Eunice), and Louisiana French Market (Lafayette) and Dwyers (Lafayette) this trip. I had never been to Prejean's before, and enjoyed the meal. Prejean's, like Mulate's and Randol's, also showcases live Cajun music during dinner. I thought the food was better than the other two (great shrimp gumbo) but that for dancing you would be better off elsewhere as the dance floor was just a small improvised space on a tile floor.
And then it was over. Another wonderful trip with great music and dancing, food and friends, and perfect dance weather (in the low to mid-70s all day, low 60s in the evening.) Who could ask for anything more!
