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WEDNESDAY :: APRIL 27TH
DJ Medi4 at Tipitina's :: Jazz Fest 2005 by Dino Perrucci |
Wednesday night the people began to arrive in NOLA in droves, on the menu of music something for each and every fancy. Signal Path raved til' dawn at Shiloh, but Garage a Trois is always the ill throwdown at Tipitina's Uptown. After a dope set from DJ Medi4, the eclectic foursome born from a Superjam took the stage for their annual Wednesday night sadistic foxtrot. Before launching into a bevy of new songs from their recent sophomore effort, Skerik let loose a grindcore bellow into the microphone attached to his black saxophone, a Norwegian shofar sound by way of Seattle, announcing the jump-off, the beginning of a devilish dance through New Orleans. GAT kept the energy high and the beats mighty with an aggressive two set tour de force complete with a Charlie Hunter-led drum jam and some local percussive assistance. The band sounded tight, yet loose and relaxed, the jams opened up into a carnival of galloping madmen - Stanton Moore's metal fetish breaking through to his other side, rearing its punishing dome beneath the Pacific Northwestern Critters straight buggin' out. Hitting just after 2 a.m. over at the Howlin' Wolf, a fully loaded Lettuce were tearing through the fusion funk songbook til' the sun came up. Mixing classic vamps and melodies, relentless Adam Deitch helmed funk missiles, purging the blaxploitation soundtrack as Ryan Zoidis, Kininger, Krasno and guest Ivan Neville delved deep into the annals of groove. A vicious take on the Headhunter's workout "Hang Up Your Hangups," given the Lettuce treatment, paid astonishing homage, and embodied the precision and fury with which these Bostonians play. And the boy Young Deitch is truly a RZA-in-waiting. All kick and snare and a punishing snap, the drummer brings boom-bap to anything he touches. Chuuch!
THURSDAY :: APRIL 28TH
New Orleans Fairgrounds :: Jazz Fest 2005 by Zack Smith |
Thursday's sun and breeze brought with it a first day at the Fairgrounds, something I look forward to all year long. Along with the crawfish bread, Crawfish Monica, and mango freeze, The Coolie Family were treating folks to some good ol' Southern gospel. Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, and later B.B. King, delivered differing, riveting interpretations of the blues. Rocking soul surfer Donavon Frankenreiter and the chart topping Jack Johnson winked at the women with their catchy sing-along surfer folk. Papa Grows Funk introduced Fest to their new drummer with a sun-drenched high energy burst of the ragin' Cajun funk-rock led by guitarist June Yamagishi and rotund organist extraordinaire John Gros. The Heath Brothers performance in the Jazz Tent turned into an impromptu tribute, with Percy Heath's untimely passing that morning.
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta
Orpheum Theater :: Jazz Fest 2005 by Zack Smith |
Thursday evening, Jazz Fest stepped out of the box with a brilliant Superfly booking at the Orpheum Theater, an evening with The Mars Volta. Mixing up their setlists with choice selections from their debut record and their most recent Frances the Mute, the Volta displayed a ferocious energy and collective sonic psychosis, bringing down the Orpheum with the multi-faceted guitar work of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. The prog-rock punks are a genre all their own - their sound cannot be pigeonholed. There is an inherent heaviness to their riffing; however, the music is dynamic, and they stop on a dime. A crooning, acrobatic vocalist further separates them from the crowd. Their performance was the most daring, albeit contrived, that I witnessed during Jazz Fest. These guys will be critics' darlings for a while. For a taste of the NOLA flavas, Henry Butler could be found whipping up a veritable frenzy at the Blue Nile. Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes fame was spotted boarding the Mothership uptown at TwiRoPa, as George Clinton and his P-Funk were warming up the freaks. After the room reached a fevered pitch and temperature, Les Claypool took the stage and delivered his now-annual redneck revival - a tour through his tortured mind, calloused hands, and tobacco spittin' gums. Delivering a nearly four-hour odyssey, Claypool shook things up a bit, with contributions from Skerik, Mike Dillon, and an appearance from the formerly dreadlocked Frog Brigade guitarist Eenor. They even dusted off the King Crimson anthem "Thela Hun Ginjeet" for this heated routine.
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