©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!





The Year 2000 In Review

(12/25/00). I thought, after reading this weekend's newspaper, that it would be fun to compile my personal highlights, Cajun Zydeco wise, from the Year 2000. It was a great year and looking back I can't believe how much fun I've had both at home in the SF Bay Area, and on the road.

This list is dedicated to the memory of Ed Luckenbach, who passed away in January 2000 and was a light of the Bay Area C-Z scene, playing zydeco in the band, Tete Rouge, and Cajun in Frog Legs. He was dear friend to many of us & his good natured presence and gifted musicianship is still sorely missed.

Bay Area Top Moments

1. Lil Pookie Sunday night at Eagle's Hall singing a medley of two Prince songs remixed zydeco style: " When Doves Cry" & "Diamonds and Pearls". It was rockin', soulful, wrenchin', groovin' and the energy level in the room was over-the-top. The crowd kept screaming and Pookie wound up playing the medley three times! Weeks later dancers were still talking this amazing night.

2. Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Cha's singing "Your Mama Don't Know" at Biscuit & Blues in San Francisco. The club looked like something out "Hullabaloo" and the dance floor was so crowded no one else could fit on it so the dancers spilled into the aisles, and onto the raised table areas. There were multiple line dances taking place on the wings of the club, the dance floor was packed, the band was cookin', the non-dancing audience was standing and clapping, folks were singing along... I thought the roof was going to blow off the place. It was an unforgettable moment.

3. Balfa Toujours & Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie's encore at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Toward the end of Geno's set, the entire Balfa Toujours band came on stage. During the four song finale, with the nine musicians clearly having a grand ol' time, they created the most rockin' versions of Cajun classics you've ever heard, sitting well within the traditions, yet transforming the songs so that no one would mistake these renditions for their daddy's music. John's son playing with Dewey's daughter and creating transformational music... French rockin' gospel!

4. Beausoleil at Great American Music Hall. The interplay of the three front men, Michael Doucet on fiddle, Jimmy Breaux on accordion, and David Doucet on guitar, had an ebb and flow that was just astonishing in its beauty. Michael set up a phase on his fiddle, Jimmy picked it up and embellished it and David elaborated on the last variation, and passing it back to Michael. This band is a national treasure and a musical tour de force.

Outside the Bay Area

1. J. Paul Jr. at Jazz Fest in New Orleans. This larger, more commercial, venue contained some of J Paul's between-song performance excesses & he put on on incredible set with his powerful gospel tinged vocals & strong original song-writing.

2. The Traiteurs at Jazz Fest and Festival Acadiens. Led by Sonny Landreth on slide guitar, it is fascinating to hear the lead instrument on Cajun riffs being played by a slide guitar rather than a fiddle or accordion and yet sound soul-heartedly CAJUN. This band takes Cajun music to a higher level.

3. Chris Ardoin at Soileau & El Sido's during Mardi Gras. With his distinctive double-clutchin' beat and great singing, Chris Ardoin is a consistant high-energy performer and his shows during Mardi Gras, the first time I'd seen the band since his brother Sean left, were incredible.

4. Keith Frank at Grant Street Ball Room during Mardi Gras. Keith put on an amazing show. When Keith is good, he is hard to top. The evening featured a tight band, minimal stage posturing, great vocals & accordion playing plus a driving beat that wouldn't let up. Keith was at his best & I had some incredible dance partners that night. One of my personal peak dance experiences.

6. Rosie Ledet at Simi Valley. Rosie has come a long way since her Bay Area debut last 5 years. She has a much stronger stage presence, a more consistent band, a unique musical voice and writes strong original material. All of this was on view at her Simi Valley show.

7.T-Mamou at the Fort Lauderdale Cajun-Zydeco Festival. Featuring Al Berard from the Basin Brothers on fiddle, and Bob Reed from the Mamou Prairie Band on accordion, plus Keith Blanchard (Basin Brothers), Sam Broussard and Tommy Bodin, this band normally plays the Louisiana Cajun dance hall circuit of Mulate's and Randol's. They play a lively, always danceable Cajun mix that stays planted in the tradition of the Balfa Brothers. Watching them on stage in Fort Lauderdale, it was evident how much they love playing this music and playing with each.

Recordings

These are CDs that I am still playing consistently months after their release.

1. J Paul Jr. & the Zydeco NuBreedz - Phenomenon J. Paul can put down a beat, & sing with gospel-tinged urgency. This CD intersperses interesting original zydeco tunes with standards like "No Sad Song" and "Farmers Waltz" , all performed compellingly. "Where My Soldiers At", a song that pays tribute to the zydeco masters that came before him & goes on about his generation's role in keeping the tradition alive, is riveting.

2. Rosie Ledet - It's A Groove Thing. Rosie can sing and compose and on this CD she is backed up by some great sax playing that complements both. The title tune is a great zydeco song, plus I particularly like some of the more bluesy numbers included on this CD.

3. Lil Pookie - People Are U Ready? Lil Pookie's CD really grew on me. Pookie mixes in rap & hip hop with zydeco & the title tune & Have No Fear rank among my favorite zydeco songs of 2000.

4. Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin' - Best Kept Secret Chris plays a mean accordion & band's trademark smooth vocals and harmonies are evident here as well. Check out his remade version of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", plus "Holdin' On," and " "Best Kept Secret."

5. Jason Frey & Travis Matte with Lagniappe, A La Vieille Maniere I like my Cajun music not souped up with Country-Western influences. And I loved this recent recording by Jason Frey (accordion) and Travis Matte (fiddle). The CD itself is a mix of killer versions of traditional songs, including "Les Flammes d'enfer', "Two Step de Eunice", "Two Step de Perrodin" and "Les Blues de Port Arthur" and original compositions that fit right in & the musicianship is first rate.



Miscellaneous

Kermit Ruffins & the BBQ Swingers at the Powerhouse in Sebastopol, CA, June 2000. An intimate room & one of the best performances by Kermit I have yet seen, focusing on his distinctive vocal style.

John Mooney at Storyville in New Orleans during Jazz Fest week, May 2000. With his slide guitar, growling vocals & arresting demeaner, John Mooney looks and sounds like no one else. The two sets, starting at midnight, featured songs from his recent CD, Gone to Hell, but it seemed a lot more like musical heaven to me!

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band at the Oakland Area, Early 2000. The Boss presides over his congregation, preaching the power of rock & roll as a life-affirming force.


Jimmy Breaux Bay Area Shows

(Dec. 8, 2000) Jimmy Breaux of Beausoleil played the first of 3 Bay Area shows at Ashkenaz last night and brought to bear his syncopated accordion playing to a wonderful evening of traditional Cajun music. In the Bay Area this week visiting Gerard Landry, Jimmy is a virtuoso accordionist. In Lafayette, I've had people tell me they think he is THE greatest Cajun accordion player performing today. For Jimmy, accordion playing is in his blood, going back 4 generations to his great-great grandfather, Auguste Breaux. He is also related to Cleoma Breaux, who with her husband, Joe Falcon, were the most influential Cajun recording artists and live performers during the 1930s.

The two sets, which Jimmy played accompanied by the California Cajun Orchestra (in which Danny Poullard played triangle and shared vocals with Suzy Thompson), continued the Cajun dance-hall tradition of alternating two-steps and waltzes. Jimmy has a reserved stage presence, probably due to years of sharing the stage with the legendary Michael Doucet. He said not a word to the audience for the entire show, but smiled a lot. Interestingly, during the break Jimmy told me he intentionally tries to blend in with the style of the musicians he is sitting in with, rather than try to take them in new directions, because the music works better that way. Nonetheless, by the second set, his strong, distinctive accordion playing dazzled the crowd on some incredible two-steps.

Jimmy kicked it up a notch at Bobby's Back Door on Thursday. Accompanied by Billy Wilson on slide guitar, Richard Chon on fiddle & vocals, Steven Straus on bass guitar & David "Killer" Hymowitz on drums, Thursday night's band, with its more energetic pace, let Jimmy's accordion playing come through front and center. The music was lively, more in the Beausoleil tradition than the Wednesday night set. Richard fiddle playing and French vocals were a delight. And Jimmy's creativity in playing and then revisiting the phrasing of riffs on his accordion was breathtaking. It was a fine evening of music-making.

Jimmy returns on February 1 with his regular band, Beausoleil, at Great American Music Hall.

Nothing But Smiles, Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie

(11/4/00 Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie returned to Eagle's Hall in Alameda on Friday night and once again, the hall was filled with smiles: of the dancers, of the audience and biggest of all, of Geno. Always gracious and appreciative of his audience, the energy flows both ways when Geno is in town, and Friday night was no exception. Geno opened with a new song to my ears that urges everyone to get out on the dancefloor, but really, we needed no encouragement. Throughout the evening, which started at 9 and ended at 1, when the neighbors started complaining and they had to turn up the house lights, Geno played a mix of familiar favorites that span the traditional Creole and nouveau zydeco repetoire. It's interesting to see how songs float to the top of the current zydeco hit parade. For the first time that I can recall, Geno included a cover version of Boozoo Chavis's "You Talk About Your Baby (But You Should See Mine)". This song has recently been repopularized by Horace Trajan, who is the one of the most talked about bands in SW Louisiana these days. (see my story on Geno's Fan Appreciation party for more on Horace.) For a local touch, Geno succeeded in embarrassing Dana DeSimone in the middle of some on-stage announcements by breaking into a long rendition of "happy birthday" to Dana - the more Dana protested, the longer the song became... it was very cute... (Happy Birthday, Dana...) Finally, at the end of the evening, Geno announced that this was the last week bass-player, Cookie Chavis, will be playing with French Rockin' Boogie. Thanks Cookie for all the good times... we will miss you.

Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic's East Coast Tour

A review by Doug Olds (excepted with Doug's permission from a longer article originally posted to the "Twistlist," a DC/Baltimore list devoted to roots music and dance.)

(10/23/00) Thursday's gig by Andre Thierry at Relay was well-attended, and the band sounded tighter than at Glen Echo the previous Saturday. ...

I skipped Donna Angelle in Bethesda following Glen Echo in order to sup and wind down for the drive to the Cat's Eye Pub for Andre Thierry. Okay, I had intended to spare you all more of my cheerleading for this zydeco man, but he sounded better than I've ever heard him, which is to say that last night's was one of the top half-dozen zydeco performances I have ever attended. The Cat's Eye was a good place to catch Andre's musicianship, it perhaps being the best local venue for connecting fans with band. Except for one jarring decorative note, the place might almost be termed "intimate," though the dance floor is small and beveled between two slightly different planes, making for some hazard amongst the pre-midnight crowds of Fell's Point pubcrawlers.

Andre did some stuff last night that I find incredible. It's not just that he plays fast (though by the end of the night he was drilling the keys of the single-row). Other accordionists can play fast, while riffing on the tonic (running and mixing the dominant notes of the key). That kind of arpeggiated playing can get boring (and is what a lot of ROM harmonica players seem to do when bluesing). Andre instead uses his fast fingers and nimble mind to take melody farther afield within the diatonic structure of his instrument than other accordionists. He extends the melody within the 8- or 32-count phrase, withstanding the temptation to add a lot of "easy" resolutions, the dominant tones that build chords. He lets his sidemen fill in the harmony as needed. By this extension of melodic space (both in time and pitch), my perception is that he invests the diatonic accordion with its maximum of chromatic character. In this sense, he earns his sobriquet, "Baby Clifton," and closes the loop between Chenier's and John Delafose's instruments.

At the end of the night, I saw something I've never witnessed before. Andre ended his set with J. Paul's "Come Back Nikki." It's a very catchy song, and popular in Houston and Lafayette. I had heard him running snatches of this song between numbers during his other gigs, so it's clear he's had it in mind, waiting to give it a try. But his bass player June Barfield didn't know it. So on the fly and wearing his accordion, Andre reached over with one hand and tapped the bass strings to show June the progression. As he did this, I could hear the bass respond with the song's bones. He did it three times until June repeated it successfully, and then they were ready to go. What made this so interesting to me is that Andre tapped out this sequence by looking at the bass from the opposite perspective. Like playing an instrument in mirror image. And he tapped by pointing his index finger, rather than plucked, so he had to alter technique as well. And he tapped it out in rhythm.

I asked him later if he had ever played the song before. "No," he answered.

I left wondering if I had seen a form of genius...





Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic
==========================================================================
by John Nevola (New York)

[New York has 2 dances with Louisiana bands each month put on by promoter Laura Selikson. Andre was the only band she's ever booked from outside Louisiana. If you would like to be added to Laura's e-mail list for New York dances, send an email to zydecolaura@hotmail.com]

On Sunday an extraordinary Zydeco Band appeared at La Belle Époque.

As a former professional musician, having seen nearly every Zydeco band,
which comes to NY, I have become rather critical. Many, including the
"star" bands, seemingly crank out streams of repetitive music, suitable
as all Zydeco music for dancing, but musically often repetitive and
uninteresting.

As with the previous acts Step Rideau who was brought to NY by Laura
Selikson and Zydeco Express, Andre Thierry was remarkable. Surrounded by
a band of excellent seasoned Zydeco musicians, Andre looks completely out
of place. Just 21 years old, he stands there nearly invisible, wearing a
white shirt and beige plants, looking like someone who should be wholesomely
serving ice cream off the local Good Humor Truck.

The band having fun, kind of hangs around waiting to jump in as Andre
begins playing riffs which turn into terrific songs. Real songs. Not
excessively long burnt out Zydeco stuff that goes on until you get tired
of your dance partner and wait for it to end, but real, 4 or 5 minute,
great dancing, musically great songs. The band of good seasoned musicians
obviously realize what the audience realizes...this kid is a genius.

The songs are gems. I remembered that Zydeco is not just 3 or 4 chord
songs played at length by road bands cranking out the time of the gig, to
dancers only into the beat, but it is terrific MUSIC.

The crowd at La Belle Époque just kept dancing and applauding. How could
you not? The music was a tasty, and interesting, and delicious as the
food served at this beautiful establishment. You might say that this music
was like good sex. And it kept coming!!

Well, all I can say, as a professional musician, thank you Laura
Selikson. Andre Therapy and Zydeco Magic, is one of the best. And if you haven't
heard of him, you'll better come hear this band before they go back
home. Kind of like Little Stevie Wonder in Zydeco. The good humor kicks ass!

What other are people are saying:

"ONE OF ZYDECO'S 10 BEST" - Geno Delafose

"He's Fantastic! - I'm so glad you're bringing him to NY!"

"Andre Thierry is a standard-bearer for the new generation. He is among
the best of both the West Coast and the Gulf Coast, and he combines youthful
vigor with a mature appreciation for his inherited tradition. The legend
goes that Clifton Chenier once grabbed Thierry by the arm and said,
'That's going to be an accordion man', .. that day has come" -- Michael
Tisserand, author "The Kingdom of Zydeco"


Geno Delafose's 5th Annual Fan Appreciation Party

(October 17, 2000) Last weekend I attended Geno Delafose's Fan Appreciation Party in Eunice for the first time. It was a wonderful party. Due to the expectation of rain, this year the event was moved from Geno's Double D Ranch to the Eunice Community Center. This is a huge covered space with open sides and a concrete floor, which provided sanctuary from the sun (since it didn't rain as expected) and a level dance surface.



Geno and his family put on a delightful event, that included over 5 hours of music plus a barbeque dinner. Geno and French Rockin' Boogie opened and closed the event. In between, a plethora of local musicians got on stage to entertain us. Included were Horace Trahan, who now plays zydeco music and performed the song, "High School Breakdown", which makes the local crowds go both crazy and silly; Sheryl and Russell Cormier playing zydeco and Cajun music; Geno's talented 13 year old nephew, Jeremy Fruge, playing accordion, who was cheered on by his proud mama and her friends; Mary Jane Broussard playing a mean accordion; and 15 year old Cajun fiddler, Alida Viator, charming as always. Over the course of the day, I heard it was estimated that over 2000 people attended, mostly locals, but I'd say over 100 folks from out of town also showed up. The dancing, it goes without saying, was excellent as well.

Aside from Geno's party, lots of other dance events took place over the weekend. Willis Prudhomme had a CD release party at Rock N Bowl in New Orleans for his new CD, "Fais Do-Do", to a large, enthusiastic crowd. Opening for Willis was Ann Goodly.

Friday night in the Acadiana area. the choices included Horace Trajan at Slim's, Keith Frank at the Blue Angel in Lafayette and Step Rideau at El Sido's. I saw Horace, who now has a zydeco band that plays in the style of John Delafose. If you saw Horace at Mardi Gras and were not impressed, I would say it is worth going out of your way to see him again. The band has settled in and really sounds terrific.

Saturday, Dwight Carrier played at Cafe des Amis's zydeco brunch. I had never heard Dwight before and really enjoyed the band as I ate my eggs begnaud. Also playing Saturday at the same time as Geno's party was Walter Mouton at the Liberty Theater's "Rendez-vous des Cajuns". After Geno's event, Horace Trajan played at the Purple Peacock in Eunice (the first time this country-western club had ever booked zydeco), Step Rideau and Zydeco Force battled it out at Richard's, Sean Ardoin headlined at Slim's, Keith Frank was in Kaplan and Chris Ardoin at El Sido's. Sometimes going to Louisiana is torture! We finally settled on the Purple Peacock, replete with disco ball and black lights, and Richard's, both venues having big crowds and great music.

Sunday afternoon, the choices were also hard. Keith Frank and Boozoo Chavis were performing in Iowa, Chris Ardoin was playing at a church benefit in Church Point, and La Bande Feufollet was at Whiskey River (plus later we learned Zydeco Force played at a trail ride in Leonville). We caught some of Chris's set, but the black top was hot, and the crowd mostly watched, so we didn't stay long. He sounded great however, and played a great version of J Paul's, "What About How I Feel". Chris has also developed Aaron Neville arms, which we ladies all noticed... now when did that happen? We ended the day at Randol's dancing to File before heading back to New Orleans that night.

For those of you who are looking for a time to visit Louisiana which is not dominated by festival crowds, yet not completely quiet, I highly recommend attending during Geno's party weekend. There was lots to do, yet, for example, even at the Cafe des Amis's zydeco breakfast, we were able to get a table without too long a wait. And the weather was great, high 70's/low 80's in the day, low 60's at night.


Diamonds and Pearls...Lil Pookie & the Zydeco Heartbreakers Make their Bay Area Debut at Bay Area Dance Camp III.

(October 8, 2000) , I just got home from seeing Lil Pookie and the Zydeco Heartbreakers play the closing night's dance for The West Coast Cajun/Zydeco Music & Dance Association's third Bay Area Dance Camp. My feet hurt, my voice is hoarse from screaming and I can't go to sleep. Pookie and the band played their hearts out, and in doing so, just blew away the dance crowd that attended Sunday evening's performance. If you stayed home because the band had a rough start on Friday night, you really missed an outstanding night of high-energy, non-stop, KILLER zydeco.

Twenty-four year old Jimmy, "Lil Pookie" Seraile Jr. took the stage at Eagle's with a band that included his father on rubboard, and cousin on guitar. A winner of the Zydeco Extravaganza's annual accordion contest at age 16, Pookie comes from a family of zydeco musicians. His grandfather, on his mother's side, is the late Delton Broussard, who was leader of the Lawtell Playboys. His uncle is Jeffrey Broussard of Zydeco Force. He has in total six uncles and fix aunts who either sing or play instruments. Lil Pookie and the Zydeco Heartbreakers played on Friday evening's kickoff dance and at the closing dance. In between, they played a gig in Seattle.

At Eagle's Hall on Friday night, it took Pookie and the band a few songs to get into a groove. For a while they were having problems with tempo and sound balance and it appeared the band was not sure of some of the material as Pookie keep calling out chord changes to the band throughout the show. However, eventually the sound and band jelled, they got into their appreciative audience, and things really picked up.

The band played both original numbers and good covers from the zydeco repetoire. They played an excellent version of Beau Jocque's "Cornbread", some fine Boozoo covers, and most surprisingly, played Cajun crooner, DL Menard's "My Back Door". On Friday, Pookie toyed with the quality and miking of his voice and on a few songs, eerily sounded like what can best be described as the Tibetan monk throat song singing style applied to the zydeco songbook. It was haunting and yet very effective. The rock-steady, "Our Way", typified this musical treatment.

Sunday's set was a little more traditional and really took the crowd by storm. It seems like some bands just need some time to settle in after trekking out here to the West Coast before getting into their groove. It was this way for Pookie. He's got a great reputation in Louisiana and on Sunday night he demonstrated in spades how he earned it. Both nights, Pookie played 3+ hour sets without a break and in fact, on Sunday, Walter had to turn on the lights to make him stop!

Lil Pookie singing "As Dove's Cry" at Eagle's Hall.

The highlight of the show for me both evenings was the band's cover version of Prince's 'When Doves Cry" in a mix with Prince's "Diamonds and Pearls". I haven't heard these songs given zydeco styling before and Pookie's soulful singing of the beautiful lyrics was unforgettable. In fact, at the crowd's request, on Saturday he played the medley three times and I would have been happy if he'd played it a few more times! It was that good.

Another element to the energy level on Sunday was the party atmosphere provided by the dance instructors that come into town from Louisiana and Texas for the weekend. Mona Wilson & Joley Bias had the crowd doing Mona-aerobics up front in joyous lines. Everyone was grinning from ear-to -ear. Ladies, this was one night you almost preferred to be in the line and not dancing with a partner. It was creative, energetic and too much fun. Even Pookie came down from the stage and joined the lines. There was just no resting on Sunday unless you chose to sit out. The other out-of-town dancer teachers, including Chester, Gabe, Lilian plus MaryLee from Seattle, were approachable and great fun to watch and/or dance with.

Our California bands, Kent Menard and the Zydeco Flames, unfortunately suffer when out of town bands are here because they lack the novelty factor. However, both bands put on great sets. The Flames played on Saturday night and Kent opened for Lil Pookie on Sunday.

Finally I have to say, the Association went over the top this year decorating the dance hall. Greeting you as you climbed the stairs was a large, hand-painted banner by Dana Mandel depicting some of the great bands who have come our way over the years, including Geno Delafose, Leroy Thomas, Step Rideau, Lil Pookie, Nathan Williams and Kent Menard. Everyone was talking about how impressive the banner was. The rest of the hall was covered in posters of Cajun and zydeco musicians, chili peppers and other festive decorations.

Kudos once more to Louisiana Sue, Dana DeSimone and their band of volunteers for putting on another great dance weekend.

Festivals Acadiens & other ramblin'

(September 25, 2000) I just got home from almost two weeks in New Orleans and Southwest Louisiana. The trip was planned around attending Festivals Acadiens but bracketing the weekend, I was able to spend time in Louisiana that I normally don't have time for when just flying in and out for a festival. A local called me a 'festival leftover' but it was time well spent as I got to unhurriedly visit with friends, eat some great food, attend music venues without the normal festival crowds, and play tourist visiting small towns in Acadiana. The weather was just about perfect, too. During festival weekend, a cool spell came through and the evenings were in the upper 60's/low 70's and in the day, the low to mid- 80's. Many people commented that it was the best FA weather they could remember and I have to concur. After the festival, it warmed up to the upper 80's and rained briefly most afternoons.

Musically, there was an incredible amount going on and you just had to make choices to cope and know that you couldn't do everything and that no matter where you went, it would be good. If you have never attended before, suffice it to say that fanatic C/Z dancers from all over the country come to Lafayette for FA and it is quite a party. Outside of the acts at FA, I was able to see in New Orleans: Geno Delafose and Steve Riley at Rock N Bowl, La Touche at Mulates and (non CZ) Kermit Ruffins at Le Bon Temps Rouler. Over the course of the week in Lafayette, I saw Keith Frank at Grant Street, Tee Mamou, File, Zydeco Force and Keith Frank at Hamiltons. Tee Mamou and Charivari at Randol's and Beausoleil and Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas at Downtown Alive. In Lawtell, I saw J. Paul Jr at Richard's Club. Regrettably I missed: Balfa Toujours and Kevin Naquin at Whiskey River, Thomas Fields at Cafe Des Amis' Zydeco Breakfast, Lil Pookie and Boozoo Chavis at Richard's, Horace Trajan and Step Rideau at El-Sido's. I heard that the Balfa Toujours gig at Whiskey River was an unforgettable evening for those who attended.

Some of the highlights for me at the Festival were: Zydeco Force, Les Traiteurs, Bruce Daigrepont, Balfa Toujours with Zydeco Joe joining them for 1 song, File, Tee Mamou, Beausoleil, Keith Frank sitting in for Bois Sec Ardoin, with Christine Balfa and Dirk Powell for a traditional Creole set (Bois-Sec's wife had sadly just passed away), and the Bay Area's Danny Poullard playing a tradtional Creole set with his brother Edward and D'Jalma Garnier.

With so much music, it is impossible to describe all the shows I saw in the detail they deserve, but a few acts deserve special mention. Tops was Keith Frank at Grant Street. I arrived around midnight, just as Keith was starting. (The first act was Steve Riley). Keith put on an amazing show. When Keith is good, he is hard to top. The evening featured a tight band, minimal stage posturing, great vocals & accordion playing plus a driving beat that wouldn't let up. Plus, I had some incredible dance partners, non-stop all night long - including both local dancers plus folks in town for the festival .. all in all one of my best dance nights in years - reminding me where the passion for dance comes from. When we left around 2:30 AM, I was a very happy camper.

At the Festival, the Cajun super-group, Les Traiteurs, took the prize. Sonny Landreth on slide guitar sets their distinct sound. He is joined by Al Berard, Errol Verrot, plus for FA, Michael Doucet was on fiddle. This band never travels but oh, what a treat, to see them perform. The music is very Cajun with a rockin' traditional sound and the inclusion of Sonny's slide guitar somehow never tilts the sound towards country, but rather has more of an Allman Brothers Southern rock feel to it.

Keith Frank's surprise appearance performing traditional Creole music with Christine Balfa, Dirk Powell, Kevin Wimmer on the Heritage Stage was an unexpected delight. The dynamics of this impromptu band was fascinating. On one number, the players had set up a lively dance tune, and Kevin started a fiddle solo. Keith looked at the other musicians, nodded his head, and set down his accordion. Then he picked up another one, waited a few bars, nodded to the band again, and took up the melody in another key. The change in pitch notched up the energy level in the playing and drove the dancers into a frenzy. It was fascinating to observe and very impressive musically.

J. Paul Jr. performed at Richard's Club on Sunday night. I actually left Keith Frank's show at Hamilton's early to see him. This is the 4th time I've seen J. Paul and he keeps getting better and better. He is a dynamic performer, with a charismatic stage presence, and an exciting sound that to me combines zydeco with hip-hop, soul, r&b, Motown, gospel & performance art. His vocals wail and his accordion playing is hard-drivin'. The result is an urban sound with a zydeco beat fills the room with high-octane energy - very exciting to listen and dance to.

For those who asked, there were several Zydeco Joe sightings at the festival, although Joe was not scheduled to perform anywhere during the week. During Balfa Toujours closing act on the Main Stage, Joe was called on stage for one number where he sang and accompanied the band on rubboard. He also joined Beausoleil during their Heritage Stage performance. And yes, Steve Riley continues to play sets that combine traditional Cajun music with swamp pop and his new, more free-form material.

Because I had some extra time this trip, I actually had time to enjoy some Louisiana cooking and not just eat fast and dash off to another dance. Some food highlights include:

Breakfasts at Cafe des Amis (eggs begnaud) in Lafayette, Hub City Diner and Dwyer's Cafe (great biscuits) (both in Lafayette);

Brigtsens in the River Bend area of New Orleans (Corn & Shrimp Bisque and Pan Grilled Rabbit);

Shucks in Abbeville - this restaurant was started by the cooks from Dupuys, who opened it when the Dupuys decided to close. Later, a Dupuy relative decided to keep the original restaurant open, but their chefs moved on. Shucks was packed, serving oysters on the half shell for $3.40 half-dozen, or $4.40/dozen & plus great gumbo served with a side of potato salad;

Catahoula's in Grand Cocteau- features New Louisiana cuisine in an upscale setting. We had a yummy Fried Okra and Oyster Salad & plus Fried Polenta topped with Wild Mushroom Sauce to die for;

Back in Time in Opelousas has the best Crab, Corn and Shrimp soup. It is located next to WhatBayou Trading Company, a wonderful shop featuring the arts and crafts of local artists as well as selling a good selection of Cajun and zydeco music. Cheryl and Blake Castille have a special ability to make all who visit the shop feel like old friends by the time they leave. I spent over 3 hours there chatting about music!

Bollino's Coffeehouse on South State in Abbeville. With expresso & cafe latte plus, as a local told me, "pecan pie so good it will make you want to slap your mama".

Dunbar's in New Orleans- delicious, inexpensive soul food. I had the special: fried chicken with red beans & rice & cornbread.

Don's Seafood Hut in Lafayette - a local favorite with great gumbo and bread pudding, plus grilled fish, baked potatoes and steamed veggies!

Cafe du Monde (cafe au lait & beignets) & Felix's (oysters & Abita beer) in New Orleans. The only places I have to eat every trip I make to NOLA.

Other highlights from this trip:

The historical museum in Abbeville where I learned about their Giant Omelette Celebration, which takes place the first Sunday in November. According to legend, Napolean stopped in the French town of Bessieres for the night and the following morning, the town prepared a giant omelette for him and his troops the following morning. The town continued this tradition to feed the poor every year since. In 1983 three citizens of Abbeville traveled to Bessieres and were knighted Abbeville's first Chevaliers and brought their French heritage and tradition home to Louisiana with them. Abbeville's omelette of friendship, prepared in the town square, with over 500 eggs, is made with the addition of crawfish and tabasco sauce.

The Tony Chachere factory in Opelousas where the smell of Creole spice is so strong it tickles your nose.

The Opelousas Museum and Interpretive Center, with an exhibition of some wonderful photos of Cajun and zydeco musicians by Philip Gould.

An exhibit of Zydeco photographs at Tulane University by Barbara Roberds, who also took the photos for Geno Delafose's "La Chanson Perdue" CD.

Audubon Park in New Orleans, and its wonderful walking/jogging/biking path around a bird sanctuary, and giant oak trees.

The Konrico Rice Mill in New Iberia that still uses turn of the century equipment to process their rice.

Needless to say, I had a great time, and from musical, weather and dancing standpoints, it was the best FA I've attended to date.

4th Annual Cajun/Zydeco Festival at Ardenwood Historic Farm

Held on Saturday, September 23rd, the 4th Annual Cajun/Zydeco Festival at Ardenwood Historic Farm featured Boozoo Chavis & the Magic Sounds, Queen Ida, California Cajun Orchestra, Motor Dude Zydeco, Andre Thierry and Zydeco Magic and the Zydeco Flames. It was a delightful event held in a wonderful location on a gorgeous day. A large wooden dance floor was set up and in between sets, Olivia Thierry gave dance lessons. The bands all sounded terrific. The highlights were appearances by zydeco legends, Queen Ida and Boozoo Chavis, plus the musician Boozoo proclaimed had all the makings to be the next legend in zydeco, the Bay Area's Andre Thierry.

Grammy-award winning, Queen Ida, now in her 70's, played her distinctive, Tex-Mex influenced zydeco. She has a peppy, cheerful sound and her gracious stage presence charmed the crowd.


Ida was followed by Andre Thierry who is a masterful accordion player. He played hard-driving zydeco riffs that leave you breathless in astonishment from their creativeness and virtuosity.

The festival headliner was Boozoo Chavis and the Magic Sounds, from Lake Charles, LA. Sixty-nine year old Boozoo was in a gregarious mood. He had relatives in the audience and spent time between sets bantering with them and praising Andre Thierry's talents and modest personality. He told the crowd he thought Andre was one of the best players on the scene today and had what it takes to go to the top. Then, he showed us what the top was all about. This 'Old School" zydeco master wrote many zydeco tunes that are now classics in the repertoire, including "Motor Dude Special" and "Uncle Bud", which he performed this afternoon to an enthusiastic audience. The Magic Sounds include Classie Ballou Jr on guitar and Boozoo's son Charles on rubboard. Needless to say, the dance floor was packed.

Kudos to Marianne and the Ardenwood staff for cooking up such an inspired line-up.


Ain't Nothing But A Party

(August 31, 2000) Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha-Chas are on a tour that brought them through Northern California this week, and as Nathan says, "Ain't nothing but a party". I attended all 3 shows, at the Heart, Spirit and Groove Festival in Ben Lomand (near Santa Cruz) on Saturday, at Eagle's Hall in Alameda on Sunday evening and Wednesday night's performance at Biscuit and Blues in San Francisco.

On the weekend, Nathan played for two completely different audiences. The Ben Lomand show could best be described as the Louisiana Bayou meets the Woodstock generation and the Deadhead crowd. Some of the band members were in the cowboy hats, and dark starched long-sleeved cowboy shirts that typifies stylish wardrobe in zydeco country. Most of the crowd, excepting the 20-odd zydeco dancers in the crowd, was in tie-dye, with whiffs of illegal substances in the air. The crowd stared at the band. The band stared back. It was wild. But everyone danced, sang along, followed instructions when Nathan hollered "Lemme hear scream", and had a great time. Following the Cha-Chas, Elvin Bishop came on stage & right away pulled Nathan's rubboard player, Mark Williams, to do a number with him.

Sunday evening at Alameda was another story. A full crowd, including visitors from New Orleans, Washington DC and Southern California were in the house, and everyone was on the dance floor. It didn't take the band long to figure out they weren't in Santa Cruz anymore... and later on in the evening, Nathan said it felt like home to him here. Nathan's band is one of the tightest and most professional in the business, and stay close to their musical roots and the stylings of Clifton Chenier. Nathan's songbook of original tunes is extensive and the title song from his latest CD, "Let's Go" is as good as it gets for getting a crowd up dancing, or in this case, working a dancing crowd into a frenzy. Some of the best line-dance songs have been written by Nathan and at one point almost half of Eagle's Hall was stepping back and forth in unison to one of them. This was a sight to behold. Nathan also played a terrific version of Chris Ardoin's "Lake Charles Connection", a song that is on its way to becoming a staple in the zydeco repertoire, as just about every band seems to be playing it these days. There were some great moments on stage as Nathan's guitar player swung his guitar over his head and played it behind his back. And great moments in the audience as well as some of the local Creole community got up front of the stage and cheered the band on.

Biscuit and Blues in SF was another dynamic performance and perhaps the best of the three. The club is smaller and more intimate than the other two venues. The stage is minimally elevated, and the dance floor, while small & tile-covered concrete, is right in front, so you are able to dance and make easy eye-contact with the band. This creates a wonderful dynamic between the musicians and the dancers. And the joint was jumping this night. The club was packed with dancers and it was standing room only for the many tourists and other music lovers who ventured into the club (maybe to see what all the commotion was about.) Again, Nathan played killer versions of "Let's Go", and "Lake Charles Connection". But the highlight of the evening for me was when he played my request, "Your Momma Don't Know", one of my all-time favorite zydeco songs. I thought the club looked like something out of "Shindig" or "Hullabaloo" (for those of you who remember that far back). The dance floor was so crowded no one else could fit on it so the dancers spilled into the aisles, and onto the raised table areas. There were multiple line dances taking place on the wings of the club, the dance floor was packed, the band was cookin', the non-dancing audience was standing and clapping, folks were singing along... I thought the roof was going to blow off the place. It was an unforgettable moment.

Ain't nothin' but a party? Yeah you right! Come back soon, Nathan!



Cooking with LeeRoy Thomas at Eagle's Hall, Alameda



(8/14/00) LeeRoy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners offered up an gourmet evening of zydeco at Eagle's Hall Friday night. LeeRoy presented his take on the more traditional repetoire, cooking up delicious renditions of songs by John Delafose, Nathan Williams, Clifton Chenier , seasoning the mix with some of his own original compositions, and throwing in a zydeco remake of Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" for extra spice. I particularly enjoyed his interpretation of Chris & Sean Ardoin's "Lake Charles Connection". LeeRoy has a nicely laid back manner and style of playing that goes down smooth. He can cook in my zydeco kitchen anytime.


Louisiana in the House…

(July 30, 2000) Or more specifically, Eagle's Hall in Alameda. Over the past two Fridays, Eagles Hall has been the place to go if you wanted to see some Louisiana zydeco performed by Ann Goodly and the Zydeco Boneshakers and Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie. Ann hails from Lake Charles, and Geno from outside Eunice.

Ann Goodly has the distinction of being one of the few woman playing zydeco today, the others being the Bay Area's own Queen Ida, Rosie Ledet, and Donna Angelle. Ann has a lot of energy and plays in the old-time style of Willis Prudhomme. She includes quite a few original compositions in her sets, but sounds best playing the old songs. The highlight of the evening came at the very end when Ann came down from the stage and started walking through the dance floor playing her accordion. When she came back to the foot of the stage, a circle of dancers formed around her. Mama Lena, Andre Thierry's grandmother, got into the center of the circle with her and the 20-something accordion player and 70-something grandma started circling each other. Mama Lena would make signs with her hands to bring the music up or down, and Ann would respond. It almost looked like Mama Lena was putting a voodoo spell on Ann, but folks don’t really do that around here, do they?

The following Friday night, Geno "Ambassador of Zydeco" Delafose, brought his good-natured, highly polished and enthusiastically performed show to Eagles Hall to a sold out crowd. Within the first half-hour, the band had everyone so steamed up it literally felt like Louisiana inside. Folks looked like they just stepped out of the shower, and it was at least 10 degrees cooler in the entryway. The crowd was so thick you could barely find your friends on the dance floor as Geno played non-stop from 9pm to 1 in the morning without a break. People I hadn't seen for months came to the show, including dancers from Southern California, New Orleans and Washington, DC and it felt like a reunion as well as a party. An excellent evening, indeed.

And to top off that warm Louisiana feeling, on Saturday afternoon, Peggy and Keith had a wonderful house party in Brisbane featuring Danny Poullard and Friends literally playing on the back porch. It was a glorious day, sunny and warm, lots of good food and good friends just hanging out and enjoying visiting with each other and dancing in the backyard surrounded by Peggy's glorious garden.



Great Expectations: The Long Beach Bayou Festival



Keith Frank made his California debut on Saturday, June 24 at the 1st Annual Long Beach Bayou Festival. Along with the usual casual festival-goers, the venue was filled with Louisiana music fans who were curious to see the man, who, along with the late Beau Jocque, shared both the privileges and burdens of being in the zydeco spotlight during the 1990's, shaping and defining the contemporary nouveau zydeco music scene we know today. For any musician who plays a regional style of music, particularly one steeped in long tradition, there is an inherent conflict in trying to win over new fans and increase your commercial appeal, while not abandoning the source of your musical strength and keeping your old fans happy. Keith Frank casts a large shadow on the zydeco scene and his greatly anticipated performance at Long Beach, showed him grappling with those issues as he ventured forth from Southwest Louisiana. It was fitting that sharing the billing with Keith Frank at the festival were three other Louisiana musicians, Walter Mouton, Willis Prudhomme, and Terrance Simien, who also have traveled that path from home to Hollywood (well at least to Long Beach which is near Hollywood), and found their own answers.

The Long Beach Bayou Festival is a fund-raiser for the Comprehensive Child Development (CCD) nonprofit organization which provides high quality care and education for children of low-income families in the greater Long Beach area. This is the 13th year they have been involved with a Cajun and zydeco music festival in Long Beach, but the first time they have been the prime organizers of the event. And for novices, they not only put on a great event but managed to snag Keith Frank to boot. The Force must be with them, yeah you right.

As for Keith Frank's set, on Saturday, it was similar to his performance at this year's Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. Initially, the Soileau Zydeco Band came out by themselves and played a short waltz. Then, in a tradition that recalls the dramatic buildups of a James Brown show, they moved into a zydeco beat, while Keith Frank teased the crowd and began playing accordion while still off-stage. Finally, about 10 minutes into the allotted 90 minute set , the Man shows up on stage and seriously kicks off the music. His set starts with a mix of songs from his recordings which he often put together in groups of 4 or 5 to create a 20-30 minute nonstop dance medley. Then he plays with the audience, creating some audience interaction by setting up a shouting match to see whether the woman or men in the audience can scream or say 'yo' louder. His next song is either a 50's or 70's zydeco remix, (the "Teenager in Love" medley from his latest album or as in Long Beach, the 70's hit, "Moving on Up". ). He also takes several breaks to play guitar instead of accordion. Here I think his concentration on his Keith Frank 3.JPG (24248 bytes)guitar playing dissipates the focus and energy of crowd and the momentum of the show slows down. However, by the close of his set, he gets down to play the irresistible zydeco songs that built his reputation. When this band means business, they can't be beat. The music is in your face, hard, insistent and funky. The band members move up and back, and jump up and down in unison. Keith plays accordion behind his back, over his head, lying on his back, doing aerobic Radio City Rockette kicks to the beat, spinning around in circles like a whirling dervish, and swinging the instrument over his head and over the audience. It is an exciting, professional, polished, crowd-pleasing show. It is also a long way from Slim's Y-Ki-Ki. And the audience's reaction to it is very interesting. The general audience who stands out front, shakes their booties (and their beers) , and is discovering Keith Frank and nouveau zydeco for the first time goes crazy and cheers wildly. The new zydeco dancers, who are seeing Keith for the first time are also Keith Frank 4.JPG (14613 bytes) generally blown away. But us cranky old-timers, who have seen Keith playing for hours with no break in his home turf, come away a little disappointed. We know what we are missing. With such a short time on stage, we are not happy when those precious minutes are squandered on show-biz. Like junkies, we want the intensity and rush we can get from the killer sets we know Keith can play if he wants to. Yet, the audience for zydeco is small, and the realities are that a general audience will probably enjoy this more commercialized introduction than the kind of sets that would get us blissed out. I should add that I did not see Keith's Sunday show but have the following report to add from Steve Swezy:

Keith was hot. He played better than Saturday. He said he loved his
first time in CA, and he would definitely be back. He said there were
a lot of great people that he met, and he thanked Franklin Zawacki
(the artist coordinator). And then, near the end, he, the rubboard
player, and two of his women friends paraded through the crowd, Keith
playing behind his back! They walked onto the dance floor, into the
center (of the crowd) for a couple minutes, playing the whole time,
then to the corner near the stage, where he dropped his accordion and
danced with one of his friends for a few minutes, then went back up on
the stage. He looked and sounded like he was enjoying himself, and
they sounded good.

Terrance Simian 2 .JPG (18211 bytes)To keep Keith Frank's set in perspective, he has not ventured as far from his roots,Terrance Simian 3.JPG (17169 bytes) as Terrance Simian has. Terrance has been in the zydeco limelight a lot longer than Keith and his act has also evolved. If you have heard and seen Terrance, you know he has a gorgeous voice, and his shows exploit that. He also loves to play with his audience, periodically teasing them with handfuls of beads which he tosses to the crowd. Terrance started out a true zydeco man, even headlined at the Plaisance festival. When he wants to he can play straight zydeco to knock your socks off. And over time, with success, his audience has expanded. He has performed and recorded with Paul Simon, appeared in the movie, "The Big Easy" , and was voted one of the Top 10 performance acts in 1987 by Billboard Magazine. TerranceSimian1.JPG (18750 bytes)His mainstay is to put in a gumbo of musical genres in his shows, which showcase his soulful voice and participatory stage act. At Long Beach he did a lovely version , with no zydeco treatment whatsoever, of The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". The general audience loves the pop-zydeco mix that Terrance plays to perfection. He has successfully crossed over, even while he still keeps one of those barefoot feet of his submerged in the bayou.

At the other extreme of the commercial spectrum is Cajun accordion legend, Walter Mouton, fronting the Scott Playboys. Walter formed the Scott Walter Mouton.JPG (15661 bytes)Playboys when he was only 13 and has been playing music at the same dancehall, La Pouissiere in Breaux Bridge every Saturday night for the past 30 years. He refuses to record because doesn't want to create more demand for his music than he can fulfill, since the band has regular jobs, and rarely travels. And yet, in some ways, he has already been recorded. When you hear Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys playing straight-on Cajun, you hear Walter in every note, as if Steve and Walter had been through a Vulcan mind-meld. Walter and the Scott Playboys are as no frills an act as you can get: unpretentious, strong and Walter 2.JPG (17130 bytes)out there. Slide guitar, fiddle, accordion, drums and guitar. Two-step to waltz to two-step. Walter plays in shorts, with the clip on sunshades flipped up on his glasses. His hands are enormous, with broad, thick fingers. They must span two-thirds of his accordion. It makes me wonder if great musicians, besides having being musically gifted, may also have a physical advantage to the instrument they gravitate too. I can't imagine these powerful fingers playing the fiddle or piano with such alacrity.

Willis Prudhomme, who opened the festival on Saturday, plays old-style Willis 2.JPG (16939 bytes)zydeco as he has been for years. Like Walter Mouton, Willis just plays his music straight on. During his sets at Long Beach, he played aWillis1.JPG (14390 bytes) tribute song to Beau Jocque, and added Chris Ardoin's Double Clutchin' song to the mix, removing the signature double-clutchin' beat, and taking it back to straight zydeco. It was interesting to hear, since most of us are used to the younger bands taking the traditional songs and goosing them up and this was exactly the opposite treatment. Yet Willis shows how powerful and compelling the tradition can be, without the hip-hop and funk and rap mixed in. It's fine that the young bucks put it there, but when Willis plays you realize the music doesn't really need it. It stands proud and strong on its own.

Also on the Long Beach schedule were several local bands. T-Lou and His Super Hot Zydeco Band play in the tradition of Clifton Chenier. I particularly enjoyed inclusion of a saxophonist to this band. The San Diego Cajun Playboys did a fine, traditional Cajun set. Acadiana helped out with the Mardi Gras parade each day.

Finally, I should comment on the Long Beach Festival itself, which is in a new and greatly improved location this year. Located out by the Queen Mary ship, overlooking Queensway Bay, and Long Beach Harbor, it is a truly magnificent site. This year, a wonderful dance floor was located under a big tent so we could dance in the shade. However the floor was still to the side of the stage, and from most of the dance floor you could not see the bands when you danced. Also, the musicians' view of the dancers appeared to be blocked by the tent so that special interaction was missing. Keith Frank's move on Sunday to play on the dance floor among the dancers illustrates just how important this two-way relationship is. If the dance floor was not going to be located in front of the stage so that other spectators could have an unobstructed view, and the organizers had to choose between shade for the dancers versus seeing the band, they did make the right choice, but it is a shame that the folks who support these bands, year in and year out, were made the lesser priority over more casual festival-goers. Years before I started dancing to this music, I used to think of the dance crowd as part of the entertainment when the bands played and I can't imagine that other spectators don't feel the same way. I would respectfully suggest that the Long Beach staff take a peak at what the other festival organizers, particularly at Fort Lauderdale and Simi Valley, are doing with their stage logistics for next year.

The other area of the festival that needs some fine-tuning is the schedule. This year, a swing band was booked for mid-Sunday afternoon. First, let me state my own musical prejudices. I am not a swing music or dance fan. So for me booking the band midday hurt the flow of the 2nd day. I think it might have been better, if the organizers felt they needed to book swing music to attract more paying customers, to either devote a day of the festival exclusively to swing music, so they could attract a critical mass of folks who love that kind of music, or to put the swing music at the beginning of the each day. I thought I saw quite a few people leaving when the swing band came on, and no new arrivals, so it is unclear to me whether this experiment in mixing the genres was the success they hoped for.

I want to stress, however, that these are two minor criticisms of an event that is overall a pleasure to attend. The location couldn't be better, the staff is caring, the cause is good and the music is first rate. Kudos to all involved, and particularly Franklin Zawacki, the artist coordinator, for grabbing that gold ring and bring Keith Frank and Walter Mouton out to California, and to Murphy Matthews and Connie Benjamin, who were the prime movers on the CCD Board, for this event.



Simi Valley Cajun Creole Music Festival 2000


(May 27-28, 2000). I attended the 11th Annual Simi Valley Cajun Creole Music Festival last weekend, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise, and I must say, they put on a first class event. From the quality of the acts they booked, to the beautiful stage, great dance floor with screening to cover both the dancers and the extensive area of picnic tables and chairs, to the pleasant fairgrounds with plenty of shade trees to the reasonable admission charge and free parking, this may be the premier Cajun zydeco festival on the West Coast right now.


This was my first attendance at the Simi Valley festival, partially because it had been held so close in time to the Long Beach festival, and partially because I had never been inspired by the lineup. However, the schedule this year was outstanding. The Louisiana bands included Boozoo Chavis & the Magic Sounds, Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, Rosie Ledet, Lil' Band of Gold (swamp pop featuring Steve Riley, Warren Storm and CC Adcock), and Doug Kershaw. California favorites were represented by Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic, Lisa Haley & Z-band and Acadiana Cajun Band. And everyone was in fine form.


Boozoo, who closed the festival on Sunday, was in a jovial mood, and played a strong set, interspersing his songs with lots of commentary to the audience. "I'm 69 years old and I've been married to the same woman for 48 years and been playing zydeco for 50 years", he told the crowd.

Geno played great sets both Saturday and Sunday. I don't know how else to describe it but to say that Geno plays happy zydeco. There is something about his material and delivery that always make me smile. After their Sunday set, both Geno and Germaine Jack, his drummer, mingled with the crowd during Boozoo's performance, and even joined us on the dance floor.


Rosie Ledet was in fine form too. She looked good, sounded great, and hypnotized the male onlookers as usual. For this Memorial weekend family crowd, she stayed away from some of her raunchier material. Compared to her last West Coast performances several years ago, she has really matured as a musician, and is really a first class act now, with original material, strong vocals and a unique perspective.


I also enjoyed the swamp pop set by Lil' Band o' Gold. This is a band still seeking its style. Depending on who has the lead vocals, the feeling of the band changes, from Steve Riley's Cajun-derived songs, to C.C. Adcock's rockers to Warren Storm's swamp pop ballads. All the songs are enjoyable, but if you see them and are a C/z dancer, don't expect to be able to dance the entire set in your usual style.


Doug Kershaw was the headliner on Saturday, and the dance floor was packed for his set with non-dancers moving up close to get a better look. Doug had several hits with his brother Rusty in the 60's including "Diggy Liggy Lo" and "Louisiana Man", and is a wildly, enthusiastic fiddler. I would put him in the theatrical Cajun show band category.

Three California bands also took the stage. Unfortunately I missed Andre Thierry's set with Zydeco Magic, because my flight was delayed, but I heard he put on a great show. Lisa Haley's music is an interpretive blend of Cajun, Creole and zydeco. She has an outgoing personality on stage and plays a mean blue fiddle. Acadiana Cajun Band were also crowd pleasers. Their strong suite are great vocals and a set that included some nice original material.


The only thing I found odd during the weekend was that the dancers from different locations really didn't mix it up too much. At most festivals I've attended, everyone mingled contantly and, in fact, much of the fun came from meeting people from other areas. At this festival, it seemed to me that each geographical group had a section of stage that they congregated at and I felt that I had to make a special effort to meet some of the other dancers.

The logistics and organization of the Simi Valley Cajun Creole festival are truly excellent. If the organizers of the festival continue to book such outstanding musical line-ups, this will become a 'can't miss' West Coast event.




Step Right Here!

Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws made their West Coast debut at Eagle's Hall on Friday night, May 19th and returned to play a second gig there just two days later, on Sunday. It was not too much. In fact, the Sunday evening performance far surpassed their Friday debut in energy and showmanship, leaving me to wonder if perhaps the band was just too tired to perform on Friday after traveling to Northern California from Texas.

I've seen Step over a half dozen times, both in SW Louisiana and also at last year's Fort Lauderdale festival, and have enjoyed the band's rock steady beat. Step, in fact, participated with Thomas Fields and Christine Balfa during one of the Ft. Lauderdale festival's history sessions, where the conversation turned to the 'soul' in Cajun/Creole music. Step related how, although only 32, he grew up picking cotton outside Eunice, and how he
tried to ensure his music reflected his Creole heritage. I was impressed by his thoughtful remarks.

At the Eagle's performance on Friday, the set was characterized by extremely long songs and to my ears (and to my surprise) a certain repetitiveness. I left at midnight and the band still hadn't taken a break. As I walked out, I was puzzling over the fact that the band didn't seem as good as I remembered. All that changed on Sunday, however. Whereas on Friday night, the band seemed like they were checking out the audience, on Sunday, although the dance crowd was smaller, the musicians looked much more relaxed and seemed like they were really enjoying themselves on stage. In fact, at times they were just wild men, doing Motown moves, running back and forth on stage, and just really getting into it. Their energy also spilled over into their music, which are mostly original compositions. Now, this was more like the band I remembered, offering hot music and a lively stage presence.

Step's tour was booked in association with Louisiana Sue and Dana DeSimone, who have been doing a great job bringing these Crawfish Circuit bands to our area.



8th Annual Fort Lauderdale Cajun/Zydeco Crawfish Festival

(May 12-14, 2000.) The first thing you realize about the Fort Lauderdale Crawfish festival is that it is designed to accommodate dancers. The two main stages have large raised wooden dance floors and are in huge tents, plus large fans provide needed ventilation for the Florida climate. There are plenty of fairly reasonably priced water booths, plus a vendor provided free powerade samples throughout the day. The organizers also have a good sense of scheduling. The days starts off with bands that appeal to dancers. And by day's end, when most of us can barely stand, the Cajun-zydceo show bands come on to entertain the broader public. In addition, there are wonderful side stages: one has a history focus, showcasing interviews with musicians and instrument-makers, the other is an acoustic stage. Dance lessons are offered throughout the day. Finally, there is a children's area with Cajun storytellers. All this, plus tasty food, free parking and just a ten minute's drive to the Atlantic Ocean for non-festival time relaxing makes this a really fun and easy festival to attend.


Musically, the festival has an equal emphasis on Cajun and zydeco acts, plus each years adds some C-z bands from outside Louisiana to mix it up. This year's festival was ruled by the traditionalists. For zydeco, you had outstanding performances by Roy Carrier , Willis Prudhomme and Geno Delafose plus good sets by JoJo Reed, Leroy Thomas, Lil Malcolm, Ann Goodly and Little Brian. Traditional Creole music was represented by a rare appearance by 84 year old Bois Sec Ardoin. Cajun musicians included, 9 year old Hunter Hayes, plus Balfa Toujours, T-Mamou, the Savoy Cajun Band, Charivari (a new incarnation of the Mamou Prairie Band) and the Magnolia Sisters. Nouveau Cajun and beyond bands included File, Wayne Toups and Waylon Thibodeaux. Rockin Dopsie Jr (photo, right) and Chubby Carrier entertained big crowds with their theatrical zydeco performances. Regional bands included Lisa Haley from Southern California, Slippery Sneakers from Rhode Island, Gris Gris and the Porchdogs from Florida and Gumbo Junkyard from the mid-Atlantic area.

One thing I enjoy about attending festivals is seeing bands I'd only heard or read about, (or caught on a bad day.) At this year, my big discovery was T-Mamou. Featuring Al Berard from the Basin Brothers on fiddle, and Bob Reed from the Mamou Prairie Band on accordion, plus Keith Blanchard (Basin Brothers), Sam Broussard and Tommy Bodin, the band's regular gigs includes the Louisiana Cajun dance hall circuit of Mulate's and Randol's. They play a lively, always danceable Cajun mix that stays planted in the tradition of the Balfa Brothers. Watching them on stage, it is evident how much they love playing this music and playing with each other. I was blown away.

I was also really impressed with Roy Carrier's set. I always wondered what the fuss was about Roy. The few times I'd seen him in the past, I was not overly impressed. Now I know these must have been bad nights. Roy really rocked. During his Fort Lauderdale set, accompanied by the always energetic Earl Sally on rubboard, he laid down a beat as unstoppable as a train coming down the track. Plus, who knew he was also a gifted impressionist? In the middle of one song, he announced that he was going to sing it like Queen Ida , and darn if he didn't nail it. His vocal impersonation was hilarious and right on. Later in the set, Earl did vocals Bob Dylan style. Book these guys on the Ed Sullivan show!

Other highlights for me were Ann Goodly's and Willis Prudhomme's (photo, left) performance on the acoustic stage. Ann has a lovely voice. Plus, Geno Delafose, Balfa Toujours and File put on their usual extraordinary shows. And it was good to see JoJo Reed fully recovered from his accident of several years ago.


Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the hospitality of the Fort Lauderdale dance community, and in particular Wayne Bridges, who opened up his home for a pre-festival brunch and post-festival lasagna dinner for the local and out-of-town dancers. Thanks, Wayne.


The Fort Lauderdale Crawfish Festival is an event put on by folks who know this music, love and respect the culture and understand the dance community. It is well-organized, easy to navigate, relatively inexpensive to attend and a pleasure to attend. (Plus they have Krispy Kreme donuts there.) I highly recommend adding it to the list of festivals you chose to travel to next year.


Jazz Fest 2000


New Orleans' Jazz and Heritage Festival is just made for someone with Attention Deficit Disorder. There are so many things going on simultaneously at the Festival fairgrounds that you are forced to make choices all day long. Basically you walk round and round the racetrack sampling music, food, interviews, ethnic dance and crafts all day long, then go back to your lodging, clean up, and head out for dinner and then to the clubs at night to party. You return the next day to repeat the routine. It is an exhausting yet exhilarating marathon. As you meet up with friends the talk is who did you see, or what part of a musical set did you see, and where are you going next. At night, the clubs have 9pm, midnight or 1AM sets, plus many have shows that don’t even start until 3:30 AM or later (earlier?). It is impossible to fully describe the experience.


I attended all four days of Jazz Fest's 2nd weekend (May 4-7) where attendance was estimated to be about 43,000 on Thursday, 60,000 on Friday, 95,000 on Saturday and 75,000 on Sunday. The trip started where it usually does: at Rock and Bowl on Wednesday night, where Steve Riley performed. The Mamou Playboys have 2 new members, replacing Peter Schwarz and Jimmy Domengeaux, and the band's music seems to be evolving into a more abstract, free form style of rock and roll. Much of the set was interesting, but not very danceable. The best part of the evening, as it always was, was seeing old dance friends again. For the rest of the week at RNB the Cajun Zydeco acts included Geno Delafose, Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas, and Rosie Ledet on Thursday, which was packed, and Boozoo Chavis on Sunday, as a last minute substitute for Keith Frank.

Jazz Fest includes all kinds of music and it was great to discover new music or hear musicians I was curious about. From a zydeco perspective, I was most impressed with Chris Ardoin's set. (see photo, left) He put on a great show, plus his music was interesting and always danceable. Close behind was J. Paul Jr and the Zydeco Newbreeds,. J. Paul has a very urban sound, but goes a little overboard with the stage theatrics. Rosie Ledet also sounded great. She was in great voice, sang mostly original material and unlike the last few times I've seen her (several years ago), the band no longer dropped the beat. I came away impressed. While in prior years, Keith Frank , along with the late Beau Jocque, was always one of my favorite acts, this year I thought Keith's show was too toned down. He did a nice Fifties medley, but it wasn’t zydeco. He had a contest to see whether the men and women in the audience could yell louder. If I remember correctly, he even sang "Hey Pocky Way" (which I must have heard at least 5 times each day). I think he was trying to broaden his appeal. The set differed greatly from what he played at Richard's during Mardi Gras. Sunpie Barnes (see photo, below right)also played during JF. I was expecting a zydeco and blues set. Instead, to my surprise, Sunpie came out with a blue crown, and African drums and played songs that sounded like they could be coming from the Congo Square stage. He did play two zydeco songs at the end.



For Cajun acts, Steve Riley played the main Acura stage. When you are used to seeing Steve in club setting, it is weird to see his and David Greely's images staring out to you on the large overhead video screen. Just like a rock star! Wayne Toups played the slightly smaller Fox/Sprint PCS stage. I hadn't seen him for a while and only caught one Cajun song, but he sure rocked out. On the Fais Do Do stage, I saw Balfa Toujours (see photo, above left), Savoy-Doucet Band, the Hackberry Ramblers, D.L. Menard, Charivari and the Traiteurs with Sonny Landreth. For the Traiteurs set, it was fascinating to hear the lead instrument on Cajun riffs being played by a slide guitar rather than a fiddle or accordion. The band has enormous power and energy. If you ever get the chance, don't miss them. In my wanderings, I chanced upon young Kira Viator playing accordion on the children's stage. She was very accomplished. Another children's band, Le Bande FeuFollet, played the Fais Do Do stage, and if you were just listening, you would never have suspected the young age of these musicians. (see photo, left)



Other musical highlights for me included fine sets by Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers, Diana Krall (both jazz stylists, with arresting vocals), and John Mooney on his slide guitar (both at the Fest and at a 1am set at Storyville). I was also impressed with the few songs I heard by Julio & Cesar (Latin), Lil Band of Gold (a new swamp pop supergroup of LA musicians that included Steve Riley, David Greely, CC Adcock, David Egan (of File) and Warren Storm among its members, see inset photo), Walter Payton , and Marva Wright (both NOLA based). Other sampling included Aaron Nelville singing gospel backed by the Zion Harmonizers, the Temptations, the Neville Brothers, Ani Defranco, the Rebirth Brass Band, plus African dancing by Tanably of Cote d'Ivoire and cooking demonstrations (including one by Ann & Marc Savoy.) I couldn't even begin to list the things I missed.

If you decide to go to Jazz Fest, which I recommend, I would tell you to take lots of clothes, lots of money and lots of sunscreen. Remember to pace yourself, drink plenty of water, and find a place to get out of the sun and cool down during the heat of the afternoon. I found that filling a water bottle filled with diluted Emergen-C (a vitamin-sports drink mix) really revived me. Make your reservations way in advance… lots of folks book rooms for next year's fest before they even check out of this year's lodgings. And of course, have fun. I know I did!





Balfa and Geno Toujours!

(2/10/00) Balfa Toujours and Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie played Great American Music Hall in San Francisco last night, and for those of you in the Bay Area who didn't make it... shame on you! This was an evening of inspired music-making from Cajun and zydeco musicians who carry the very tradition in their genes.

The evening opened with Balfa Toujours (meaning Balfa Forever) doing a tradition-drenched Cajun set. Guitarist Christine Balfa is the daughter and musical heir of legendary musician, Dewey Balfa. As part of the Balfa Brothers, Dewey and Christine's uncles, brought Cajun music out of obscurity and ridicule as that 'clanky clank' music and into a source of regional and national pride. With her husband, Dirk Powell on accordion, and former Bay Area resident, Kevin Wimmer on fiddle, these three players form the core of a band that can play songs in the old traditions as well as update the sound with a modern freshness. On one amazing number, Kevin took a pair of drumsticks and tapped the beat directly on the fiddle that Dirk was playing. You can just imagine how this technique evolved from house dances in bayou country. The repertoire ranged from numbers that have been played by Cajuns forever, to new compositions by the band that sound like they could have been. As a special treat, during a few numbers, Geno Delafose joined BT on stage to play the drums. A short hour later, their set was over. Their delighted fans really would have liked to have heard Balfa toujours.

After a short break, Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie took the stage. Geno, of course, is son of John Delafose. And he and Christine Balfa (along with Steve Riley) , grew up together in the Eunice-Mamou area, even going to school together. They often collaborate on each others recordings and share the love of the Cajun-Creole French musical heritage and work particularly well in those spaces where their traditions intersect. Geno's band included "Cookie" Chavis, Boozoo's son, on guitar, and "Popp" Esprite on bass. When Geno is on stage, the energy level just cranks up and tonight was no exception. Geno is the goodwill ambassador of Louisiana French music. Before his sets, he walks around the audience, in tee-shirt and baseball cap, thanking everyone for coming. Then he goes on stage, grinning from ear to ear, with his starched shirt and jeans, and cowboy hat, and rocks the house. Musically, Geno has matured, and he seems to be refining his repertoire to really suit his talents. There are just no low moments or weak song choices in his sets any longer. The surprise this evening was his interpretation of the country hit, "Behind Closed Doors".

Toward the end of Geno's set, the entire Balfa Toujours band came on stage. It was apparent from the interplay between the bands and the audience that these bands have many friends as well as fans in the Bay Area and the dance floor in the exquisite GAMH was packed with waltzers and two-steppers. During the four song finale, with the nine musicians clearly having a grand ol' time, they created the most rockin' versions of Cajun classics, sitting well within the traditions, yet transforming the songs so that no one would mistake these renditions for their daddy's music. If you could sit down during this set, you must have had your earplugs pushed in too far! You ain't heard nothing if you ain't heard Geno playing Cajun music with Balfa's daughter and Boozoo's son. It is transformational music, French rockin' gospel, joy to the world. It just makes you want to say thanks for being privileged to bear witness to such sounds... years from now, you will be able to say... yes I was there... I was there that night and saw Geno and Christine and Kevin and Dirk and Cookie and Popp tearing up the house .... Hallelujah!


Untimely Death of Ed Luckenbach, Bandleader for Tete Rouge and Frog Legs guitarist on January 19th.



Ed Luckenbach, Frog Legs guitarist and Tete Rouge accordionist, died unexpectedly at his home on January 19, 2000. Ed had not been feeling well since Thanksgiving and had been undergoing testing to try to find the cause. Condolences can be sent to Elaine Herrick, 23 Highland Drive, Napa, CA 94559

A memorial service, musical jam and dance were held on Sunday, January 30th. See www.froglegsband.com for a remembrance of Ed and developing details on this musical celebration of Ed's life. See http://teterouge.crazygator.com for Jim Philip's memorial page and slide show.




Little Malcolm and the House Rockers Save the Day


Dec. 26, 1999. On Sunday night, Andre Thierry and Zydeco Magic were scheduled to play a dance from 5 to 7 pm at Eagles Hall in Alameda. In the house were Little Malcolm and the House Rockers from Lake Charles, LA. During the evening, Malcolm and the band came up to play a few numbers, an unexpected surprise, as did Chasya Thierry, Andre's sister. Things were really rocking when at 8pm the music abruptly stopped, and the band started packing to leave. Apparantly, two of the band members, Larry James, and the drummer, had another gig, that they didn't tell Andre about until 7:30 pm. The crowd was all pumped up and wanting to dance. They started chanting "9:00, 9:00"! And to everyone's amazement and delight, Little Malcolm's band had their instruments nearby, brought them into Eagle's, and proceeded to play a wonderful 90 minute set. They really saved the day. On behalf of the Bay Area dancers in attendance, I'd like to say to the House Rockers, "Thanks ... you guys are the best!".

Jan. 2, 2000 Malcolm.JPG (6231 bytes)Little Malcolm and the House Rockers played a Sunday evening set at Eagle's Hall and then headed over to the Monte Carlo Restaurant in San Francisco to back up Andre Thierry. The band was really rocking at both venues. In SF, Malcolm sat in on drums, while Andre played front and center. It was stunning musically to hear them adapt to Andre's repertoire and add that Louisiana backbeat groove to his accordion.

West Coast Zydeco Extravangza



The West Coast Zydeco Extravaganza weekend was kicked off on Friday night, November 26,1999, with a sold-out performance by Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie. Over 450 folks from over 8 states attended, and there was an hour long waiting line out front to get in... shades of Rock N' Bowl at Jazz Fest time! Geno played for 5 hours with only a 15 minute break to a wildly enthusiatic crowd. I know I was in the 'zydeco zone', just blissed out, for most of the evening. On Saturday, music was provided by local favorites, Andre Thierry and Zydeco Magic, and Kent Menard. Sunday afternoon, Willis Prudhomme backed by Bonne Musique Zydeco was a big hit. It's been over three years since Willis had played here, and many new dancers had not been lucky enough to hear him before and were knocked out. Closing the set was an encore performance by Geno Delafose, who decided on Friday night to return on Sunday to give his fans who were unable to get in on opening night, a chance to see him. This weekend's festivities were sponsored by the West Coast Cajun & Zydeco Music and Dance Association.


Queen Ida brought her band to Eagle's Hall on Saturday night, November 20th, and it was a delightful evening. A family affair, Ida was accompanied at various times throughout the evening by Al Rapone, her brother, Freeze Guillary, her son, and a talented little rubboard player who appeared to be her grandson (Freeze's son). Also adding to the musical mix was a very talented saxophone player with a bluesy voice. Queen Ida and Al Rapone have a new CD out, and this evening was billed as a CD release party.

Born in 1930 in Lake Charles, it's hard to believe the energetic woman on stage is close to 70 years old! Queen Ida moved to the Bay Area after WWII, and was the first woman to lead a zydeco band. She has been a major force in popularizing zydeco music around the world and has won one Grammy award, and an additional three Grammy nominations during her long career.



Pinch Me. I Woke Up Thinking I Was in Lousiana This Weekend.


When LeeRoy Thomas and Mona Wilson weren't tossing beads into the crowd..they were entertaining the crowds with hot music...
and cool dance moves at Bay Area Dance Camp II in Alameda....while Alida and Moise Viator were playing their sweet Cajun music to happy crowds in Silicon Valley.

(October 18, 1999) Friday night started off the weekend right when LeeRoy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners opened the festivities for Bay Area Dance Camp II at Eagle's Hall in Alameda. A good sized crowd enjoyed ihis traditionally styled zydeco. LeeRoy's last visit to the Bay Area was with his father, Leo, and this trip sees him breaking out on his own. His repetoire has changed somewhat, but LeeRoy stills mines traditional territory as well as adds some original compositions.. And by the end of the evening, you might consider calling him the Jimi Hendrix of zydeco, as he demonstrated how to play accordian in the air, between his legs, and on his head.

Saturday, the Dance Camp featured accordian workshops with LeeRoy Thomas, basic zydeco and waltz dance lessons with Dana DeSimone, and advanced dance lessons with guest dance instructors, Mona Wilson and Joely Bias, from Texas. In the evening Tom Rigney and Flambeau played. Just like in Louisiana, however, there was too much music to choose from that day. For instance, Andre Thierry was playing in San Jose and Gator Beat was playing at Sweets Ballroom. Plus there were two other Louisiana performances going on that day to choose from...

Moise and Alida Viator played a house dance in Mountain View accompanied by the Bay Area's alida.gif (38953 bytes)Suzy and Eric Thompson on Saturday afternoon. . In September, these talented teenagers who live on a farm in the community of Tasso, near Eunice, Louisiana , played at Festival Acadians and before that, at Jazz Fest in New Orleans. . Alida, 15 years old, is adorable and absolutely charmed everyone in attendance as she introduced the French songs, played exquisitely carved fiddles handmade by herself, her brother and her mother, and sang. Her brother Moishe, 18, was equally talented on guitar. The afternoon was sunny and warm, and a small but enthusiastic crowd danced, ate boudin and thoroughly enjoyed this sweet afternoon of family music-making.

Later that evening, I headed back to San Francisco, where funky New Orleans piano player, Henry Butler, was playing to a packed house at Mick's Lounge. .Mitch Woods, without his Rocket 88's, also sat in for a few songs on Saturday nite.

Sunday afternoon the Dance Camp featured additional dance workshops with Dana DeSimone and Steve Nash, a great dancer and rubboard player from Louisiana., and a rubboard workshop with RC Carrier. The afternoon's dance started with some exhibition style dancing by the dance instructors and some talented Bay Area dancers, followed by music provided by LeeRoy Thomas, Kent Menard and the Zydeco Flames. The bands were on fire and the energy level on the dance floor was way up. Driving home from Alameda over the Bay Bridge after dancing to exhaustion, I could see the fog rolling in, cooling down me and the city. It doesn't get much better than this!

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