Howl at the moon at The Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans for the 2015 Bayou Rendezvous

April 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment

bayou-smallBy Steven Wandrey //

Satisfied Productions presents the 13th annual Bayou Rendezvous //
The Howlin’ Wolf – New Orleans, LA
May 1st, 2015 //

On Friday, May 1st at the Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans, many of the country’s finest musicians will come together during Jazz Fest to bring you an all-night live music event featuring nine bands on two simultaneous stages. The Bayou Rendezvous will go all night from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. and is always one of the most memorable and unique night shows during Jazz Fest. This year’s diverse lineup brings several varieties of funk and dance music flavored with soul, afro-beat, jazz fusion, electronica and rock.

The Bayou Rendezvous All-Stars will make their debut to open the night with a stellar lineup of musical legends forming a supergroup that is not to be missed. Col. Bruce Hampton (ret.), the Godfather of Southern alternative jam fusion and his Aquarium Rescue Unit bandmate and Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge will be joined by local New Orleans legends Ivan Neville and Johnny Vidacovich, along guitar masters Eric McFadden (Parliament-Funkadelic, The Animals) and Roosevelt Collier (The Lee Boys). Further solidifying the rhythm section will be Duane Trucks, the 26-year-old drumming sensation currently touring with Widespread Panic, and Doug Belote, who recently won Offbeat‘s award for Best Jazz Album for his solo release Magazine Street.

The second set of the night will be brought to you by SF Bay Area psychedelic soul-funk masters Monophonics. Touring in support of their timeless new album Sound of Sinning, Monophonics’ set will morph into the set of their longtime West Coast collaborators Orgone. This Los Angeles deep soul, rare funk and afro-disco rock powerhouse is also touring behind their brand-new release Beyond the Sun. Both of these bands will also be joining forces for a Jazz Fest exclusive set, Orgone VS. Monophonics, in which both bands will play together with all members on stage at once.

Kung Fu, hailing from New Haven, Conn., will perform a high-energy, late-night set in the main room. Kung Fu has quickly become one of the hottest funk bands in the new-funk movement, Kung Fu is blurring the line between intense electro-fusion and blistering dance arrangements. Making fusion music “cool” again, the band draws on influences such as early Headhunters and Weather Report and merges those ideas with a contemporary EDM-informed sensibility. Imagine 70’s funk-fusion meets a modern dance party!

The Den stage, next door to the Main room, will start off with a bang, as Polyrhythmics, an 8 piece original hard-driving, modern afro-beat and syncopated, horn-driven funk band from Seattle, brings the heat.

The California Honeydrops, hailing from Oakland, will be up next, drawing on diverse musical influences from Bay Area R&B, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues and New Orleans second line. The Honeydrops will bring vibrant energy and infectious dance-party vibes to the evening.

Out of the Northeast, TAUK will keep the dance party moving with their New York City style of heavy instrumental rock fusion. The transcendent four-piece seamlessly brings together genres as diverse as melodic rock, fusion, gritty funk, progressive rock, ambient, hip-hop and jazz.

New Orlean’s own Gravity A will continue the festivities, bringing their unique funktronica and eclectic sounds into their late-night set. As the sun rises, local New Orleans funk outfit Gravy will finish the night by hosting the sunrise breakfast jam with special guests.

Event Information:

Nine bands, two stages
Doors: 8 p.m.
Show: 9 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Buy tickets for $30 in advance.

Artist Lineup:

The Bayou Rendezvous All-Stars are: Ivan Neville, Johnny Vidacovich, Col. Bruce Hampton, Oteil Burbridge, Eric McFadden, Roosevelt Collier, Duane Trucks, Doug Belote and special guests!

Orgone VS. Monophonics (playing full sets each, plus a special set together)
Kung Fu
The California Honeydrops
TAUK
Polyrhythmics
Gravity A
Gravy (Sunrise Breakfast Jam)

Schedule of Events:

Main Stage
9 p.m.: The Bayou Rendezvous All-Stars
11:30 p.m.: Orgone VS. Monophonics
11:30 p.m.: Monophonics
1 a.m.: Orgone
3 a.m.: Kung Fu

Den Stage
10 p.m.: Polyrhythmics
Midnight: The California Honeydrops
2 a.m.: TAUK
4 a.m.: Gravity A
6 a.m.: Gravy
Sunrise Breakfast Jam with special guests

*All times local Central Standard Time

For more information, go to Bayou Rendezvous’ Facebook page or Facebook event page, Twitter and Spotify playlist.

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NOLA supergroup Dragon Smoke keep surprising

December 6, 2013 by 1 Comment

DragondSmokeBy Josh Herwitt //

Dragon Smoke featuring Ivan Neville, Stanton Moore, Eric Lindell & Robert Mercurio //
The Mint – Los Angeles
December 4th, 2013 //

There’s an old adage that “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Well, these days, where there’s Dragon Smoke, there’s also fire — but in a good way.

That’s just a testament to the kind of energy the New Orleans supergroup brings every night it hits the stage. Of course, whenever you put four All-Star musicians in the same room, good things can often happen.

Yet, it still takes chemistry to make a band click on all cylinders, and Dragon Smoke certainly has that with Ivan Neville, Eric Lindell, Stanton Moore and Robert Mercurio on board.

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For one, you won’t find a much better rhythm section in the music business than Moore and Mercurio, who are best known for their work with New Orleans funk outfit Galactic. Moore, after all, has become one of the most sought-after drummers over the last decade. With a burgeoning solo career that has led to playing in other supergroups like Garage A Trois and Street Sweeper Social Club, it’s hard to fathom how he has found the time for another side project. Mercurio and his bass, meanwhile, know how to stay plenty busy as well.

So, when you add Neville’s impeccable dexterity on the keys and Lindell’s tasty guitar licks to the mix, you’ve got quite the four-piece on your hands. And that’s without mentioning that Neville and Lindell can both hit the high notes when it’s time to take the mic.

After catching last year’s show at The Mint, Showbams returned to the diminutive jazz club in LA on Wednesday to see what exactly the quartet had in store this time around.

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Playing two sets that predictably extended past the three-hour mark, Dragon Smoke cooked up a mean batch of gumbo and followed that up with a healthy helping of jambalaya. There were covers of Bill Withers (“Grandma’s Hands”), BLACKstreet (“No Diggity”) and even some old school War (“Slippin’ into Darkness”).

But one of the biggest surprises of the night — and a pleasant one at that — was the band’s rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”, serving as another piece of evidence that at any point in time, Dragon Smoke is more than capable of taking someone else’s song and making it entirely its own.

If the packed crowd was any indication of what Dragon Smoke has become in the last 10 years, you can bet that these four horsemen will be touring again sometime next year.

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