Check back periodically, this post will be updated as more shows are announced. Go crazy.
Papa Grows Funk
Carnival season gets into full-swing this weekend and Tipitina’s is planning a Carnival Kick-Off Party to get a one-night jump on Saturday’s Krewe du Vieux festivities.
For whatever reason, in music, as is the case in just about any other line of work, some days don’t glue themselves to the long term memory bank like the others. However, on any given night, certain indescribable circumstances can converge, lightning-and-a-bottle can be captured, magic can happen, and an unforgettable live music experience is forged deep into the hippocampus for both the fans and artists themselves. These are the concerts, life events, and peak professional moments we hoped to capture in this feature by asking a few standard questions about the year in music to some of our favorite artists.
It didn’t take long for this makeshift musical beast called Tryptophunk to groove into a well-oiled machine, finding their stride well within the first 20 minutes of a 2.5 hour party at Tipitina’s Uptown to ring in Turkey Day. Highlights included the early and often Meters covers, including “No More Okey Doke” and “Ain’t No Use”, as well as an instrumental “Come Together” interlude, a nice take on “Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf)”, and a fitting homage to Fess, when the super sextet closed it out with “Tipitina” at just a shade before 2 a.m.
Dr. Dog, Tinariwen, and an extra special semi-Rads reunion on Friday night at Tipitina’s highlights a busy week of shows in the Big Easy. Continue on below for this week’s slate with a video from an artist playing each night of the week. Get out there.
Now that Anders has been discovered by the world at-large and Shorty is a GRAMMY winning household name, Papa Grows Funk has to be New Orleans’ best kept musical secret. Friday night served as a celebration of their great new record Needle in the Groove and a headlining set at Tipitina’s was an excellent platform to perform the Allen Toussaint-produced record in full from front-to-back. Not sure if I was just settling in at the onset of the show but the latter half of the album is what really left an impression. Because of a lack of song titles to reference, I can’t say much more than the fact that this record definitely merits checking out, didn’t seem to be just another NOLA funk record (not that that’s a bad thing), some interesting compositions on there for sure.
It’s a busy couple weeks at Tipitina’s Uptown, providing ample options for those looking to accent their Voodoo weekend and Halloween festivities with some live music. The big run of shows kicks into gear tonight with the Papa Grows Funk record release party. Tomorrow night, Rebirth Brass Band will be in the house and as usual Bruce Daigrepont’s long-standing Cajun Fais Do Do dance party is going down at 5:30 on Sunday for those looking to cut a rug.
