By Jim Stanford on August 20, 2007
“Me whole tribe just having fun … We gonna dance till morning come.”
The spirit of Professor Longhair was in the house as the celebrated pianist and hoodoo guru Dr. John brought his boogie-woogie funk to the Mangy Moose last night.
Dressed to the hilt in a brown pinstriped suit, matching fedora and red suede shoes, the good doctor administered generous doses of blues and soul while rollicking through a 16-song set heavy on Crescent City classics.
He also growled about FEMA, government and the lack of progress in rebuilding his native New Orleans.
“I was pissed off after Hurricane Katrina,” he said, “and I’m still pissed off.”
No, he didn’t shake the lobster claw on his piano, but at one point he did tickle two sets of ivories at the same time.
What the skull is for, I don’t know. But I wasn’t about to inquire.
Dr. John played one number, “Wade,” from his recent benefit CD Sippiana Hericane, proceeds from which go to the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic and other relief groups.
The best part of seeing him up close in an intimate club was noticing the details of his outfit, like the string of what appeared to be shark teeth around his neck, and his black socks with orange skulls.
Toward the end of the show, Dr. John launched into his biggest hit, “Right Place, Wrong Time,” which rumbled with funk and sent the crowd, festively adorned with feathers and Mardi Gras beads, into a frenzy of grooving. The scene could have been straight out of 1973.
As his fans howled, the man also known as Mac Rebennack later returned to the stage for an encore of “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”
The show was the latest installment in what has been a summer-long Jazz Fest in the Hole, following on the heels of the Charlie Hunter Trio the night before and earlier visits by New Orleans musicians Galactic, the Neville Brothers, Henry Butler and Branford Marsalis.
It’s been exhausting yet exhilarating. And it’s not over yet. This Friday, the revelry continues with a rare appearance by local funksters Mandatory Air at the Moose.
Blues master Buddy Guy, another Louisiana native, will wail at the Center for the Arts theater on Monday.
And closing out the summer will be the Jackson Hole Mountain Festival at Teton Village. The fest kicks off with Soulive at the Mangy Moose on Friday, Aug. 31.
There will be two outdoor concerts on the Nordic Center field over Labor Day weekend: The first, on Sunday, Sept. 2, teams Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk with the Hasidic Jew rapper Matisyahu. Then the fest takes on a Latin flavor with B-Side Players and Los Lonely Boys on Monday, Sept. 3.
No need to go to New Orleans or Austin this year. The good tunes have come to us.
Posted under funk, jazz fest, mangy moose, music, new orleans
