Lafayette Update: Secret Handshakes and the End of an Era

(6-15-05) Sometimes I think I am part of a secret society. At least that's how I feel whenever I get home from spending a week at Dewey Balfa Cajun/Creole Heritage Week, sponsored each year by the non-profit Louisiana Folk Roots organization. As it has been for these last few years, Balfa camp was one of the highlights of the wonderful spring festival session which included Festival International in Lafayette, the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, Jazz Fest in New Orleans, and a trip to the new south Florida Cajun/Zydeco festival in Deerfield Beach (near Fort Lauderdale).

Balfa camp is basically a Cajun/Creole cultural immersion program. For seven days you eat, breath, play music, sing, dance, drink and sleep in a beautiful Louisiana state park surrounded by your musical and cultural heroes, and your old and new friends, all of whom share your passion for this music and culture. Reality slips away quickly and soon you live in a world where it seems like everywhere there is just you, your friends and the music and that the only thing you and your fellow campers are concerned about is how to take it all in until you feel like you are overflowing with the good energy around you and drunk on it all. It's so much fun you just don't want to stop. I've been playing guitar for almost two years now and while in former years, I focused on culture or dance at this camp, this year I got to take a week of intermediate guitar lessons with Al Berard, one my musical heroes who plays Dennis McGee tunes on his fiddle so sweetly you want to cry but is also a fabulous guitarist and patient teacher. I also managed to fit in other guitar lessons and private tutorials with Ann Savoy and Blake Castille. Besides that, I went on a nature hikes, listened to stories told by some of the local legends, danced every night, and played music til my hands cramped up and my fingers were sore. When I was too exhausted from all this fun, I'd nap on outside benches and listen to music classes, or individuals practicing under the shade of the trees or jamming together as I dozed off. I participated in a great band lab and at the end of the week, our band, called the Nouveau Natives because most of its members had recently moved to Louisiana, performed one of the songs we'd been practicing all week in front of the camp. I also sat in on an impromptu jam where I played triangle with the members of Balfa Toujours (and no one stopped playing after I joined in!). When people ask me, what's so special about attending the week, sometimes all I think to say is... you just have to be there and experience it for yourself. Afterwards, it seems like the world is almost divided into 2 groups: those who've attended, and everyone else. Oooooh... the Cult of Balfa Camp.
Towards the end of April and early May, the major festivals start here in full force. There are lots of visitors in town and the clubs are hopping. Each festival has a different feeling to it. Festival International is held on 5 different stages, in the streets of downtown Lafayette. There is, of course, lots of local music: Cajun, Creole, zydeco and swamp pop, plus bands with a French flavor from Europe, Canada and Africa. This year the Mammals, a folk rock band from the Northeast, played a song with political content (anti-Bush) that upset part of the crowd (while others cheered). Apparently, although it was hard to be sure what exactly happened, the Festival organizers suggested that the band not play that song again. Then there was talk of possibly adding what amounts to a censorship clause to future FI contracts which book participating musicians. Well, that causes an uproar, and the local newspapers were filled with Letters to the Editorial for a few weeks, both pro and con. Last I heard, the contracts weren't being changed.

Much less controversial this year was the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, which still has a small town feel to it. Two big music stages plus one small one, a crafts show and carnival rides set the scene here. A mix of Cajun, Creole and zydeco music for three days and good weather made for a lot of happy attendees. On the other end of the spectrum, New Orleans Jazz Fest is a huge event, with great music (maybe a dozen stages), excellent crafts, fabulous food and terrific crowd watching. How many other places can you catch over sixty bands a day from all over the world. I particularly enjoyed seeing Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, The Magnolia Sisters, Cedric Watson , Stevie Winwood, John Mooney, James Andrews, Sonny Landreth, & Zap Mama,

In May I fit in a trip to the new Deerfield Beach Cajun/Creole festival, while visiting my parents who live in South Florida. This festival attempts to fill the shoes of the now defunct and fondly remembered Ft Lauderdale festival , which lost its city sponsorship after many wonderful years. I thought the organizers did a decent enough job for their first year, but on the day I attended, I missed the crowds, energy and professional feeling of the original event, which had been one of my favorites.

Lastly, it is with great sadness that I have to report that Hamilton's Club, the landmark zydeco club in Lafayette which has been in existence since 1956, is closing for good on Father's Day, June 19th. The last dance will feature Geno Delafose and Keith Frank. A combination of serious health problems and dwindling crowds finally caused Mr. William Hamilton, the owner, to make the decision to shut down. Hamilton's, over the years, had a reputation for being especially gracious to both black and white crowds, and in the early 80's even established a "White Night" where Cajun or rock 'n roll dances were held weekly. On the zydeco side, everyone from Clifton Chenier to Curley Taylor has played there. I always enjoyed my visits to Hamilton's. The wooden dance floor was great, the ventilation system seemed to keep the smoke down, and the crowd was friendly and laid back. While there are certainly other places to dance or hear music in Southwest Louisiana, Hamilton's Club always seemed special and will be greatly missed.



Hamilton's Place holds its Last Dance

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On Sunday, June 19, Hamilton's Place in Lafayette, LA more commonly known as The Hamilton Club held its last dance and closed its doors for good. Mr. William Hamilton (photo left by Philip Gould) cited personal health problems and dwindling crowds as the reasons for closing. Hamilton's, open since 1956, is/was one of the last remaining roadhouse zydeco clubs, a raised building with wooden floors that literally shook, bounced and vibrated when the dancing and music got good and loud.

Dwindling crowds were not a problem on closing night, when Geno Delafose and Keith Frank played their final shows there. The doors opened at 6pm and by 9 that evening over 800 people had paid admission (200 over the club limit but, as I heard someone say, what were the local authorities going to do at that point, close them down?).

There are no definite plans for the club right now, except however that Mr. Hamilton would like to sell the building and have it moved from the family property on Verot School Road. I've heard there is a group in Northern Louisiana that would like to move it there and turn it into a zydeco music. Another idea, that has been supported by an editorial in the local newspaper, is to have the club moved to either Vermillionville or Acadian Village to sit with examples of other traditional Southwest Louisiana architecture in these living history museums.