Like many local super groups, Dragon Smoke, a New Orleans group made up of Robert Mercurio, Stanton Moore, Ivan Neville and Eric Lindell, formed in 2003 for a one-off Jazz Fest Super Jam gig and has played sporadically ever since. As the good word has spread about their rare blowouts, they’ve become a must-see staple for thrill-seeking JF fans at both the festival and late night scene. This fall, the band announced a multi-coast mini-tour and a new album in the works for 2012, kicking it off with a show at Tipitina’s last week.
Garage A Trois took the stage at One Eyed Jacks last night rockin’ matching gray Puma track suits, setting the tone for the full-fledged weirdness that would ensue. One of the music universe’s more intriguing collaborations, Garage a Trois meshes the musical stylings of four immensely talented musicians into something altogether unique, disruptive, and powerful. During the show, my buddy and I joked over PBRs that it would be impossible to label Garage A Trois’ sound without throwing ‘fusion’ on at the end for good measure, and a day later I’ve accepted the fact that it would be a disservice to put Garage a Trois into any specific category(ies). Blending elements of funk, jazz, rock, hip-hop, punk, metal, ska, and whatever they feel like exploring on a given night, Garage a Trois’s sound is truly one of a kind.
Karl Denson | photo by whitperson
Although Hurricane Irene ended up being rather wimpy — considering all of the preparations and dire warnings — it certainly screwed up a lot of NYC concerts and festivals this past weekend. Brooklyn Bowl had to postpone BP’s Saturday show, so I was denied what would have certainly been a raging, late-night throwdown (including a fist-pumping “Inside the Tinman” according to the band). Here’s hoping that the weather clears up nicely this week and lets the show(s) go on.
Speaking of which, there are two standout shows this week at outdoor venues…Bright Eyes and Dr. Dog are teaming up for a show at the Williamsburg Waterfront, which should be pretty stellar. For something a bit more keyboard-centric, the Beekman Beer Garden has Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers with Marco Benevento opening, a show I’m definitely eyeing as a nice outdoor option to break up the week.
For something a little funkier, Karl Denson’s locking down Brooklyn Bowl for a two-night party on Thursday and Friday. That sounds groovy, but I’m also eyeing some of the unique collaborations that are happening over the weekend. First, we’ve got Joe Russo — on break from drum duties for the Dead — pulling together a bit of a NYC super-group with Erik Deutsch, Scott Metzger, & Andy Hess at Cameo Gallery in Brooklyn. The show is now billed as Rumble Dogs, and even though I have no clue what music they’ll be playing, it’s bound to be pretty amazing with that core group of players on the bill. Another interesting night of collaborative groups goes down at Brooklyn Bowl on Sunday. Stanton Moore, Will Bernard, and Robert Walter are playing the Bowl’s early show, while Steve Molitz, DJ Logic, & Freekbass are handling late-night freakout duties with what’s being billed as “Headtronics.” Assuming that’s short for some form of “heady, electronic” music, then I’m guessing it’ll be an interesting dance party with a bit of a jammy bent. If you want to dance to something a little more in the indie-electro vein, then I definitely recommend checking out Small Black at the Palms in LIC on Saturday (and, according to Songkick, also on Monday night). Of course, for the bigger fans of straight-laced electronic dance music, Randall’s Island (venue for the Electric Zoo Festival) is probably the place to the be this weekend.
As always, there’s quite a lot more happening this week in NYC than I’ve got time to dig into above. So, have at it…
Interesting shows from this week’s NYC concert calendar:
READ MORE
You are doing 10 shows over the next 10 days in 7 different venues including a handful of late, late night (which is a ton but Stanton Moore is doing 27) – Not only how do you do it, but how does he do it? Seems like a good tour manager is a must to pull something like that off.
Marco Benevento: I do it with the help of a combination of things –
The Gris Gris Man
Playin’ with Johnny V and Georgey P at the Maple Leaf…in our pajamas!
And Yerba Mate
Stanton does it with -
Iced Coffee
Adam Kelly
And Papa (and Aletta of course)
The good folks over there at The Boom Boom Room have done it again. 2011′s edition of Boogalooin’ at Jazz Fest (in it’s 11th year) is a prime example of the collaborative spirit that brings together so many world class musicians, to late night gigs that can only been seen and heard in the haunts of New Orleans. This year they bring back (among many) supergroups FREQUINOX, The Whip! and Dragon Smoke for some mid-week action HQ’d at Frenchmen Street’s Blue Nile (Dragon Smoke will be at One Eyed Jacks). We are also very excited about tonights Stanton Moore Trio gig with Anders Osborne, as well as the swirling two Hammond attack of Sunday’s Worship My Organ (feat. Marco Benevento and Robert Walter). Get out there people!
Our Jazz Fest coverage over at @LMBNOLA is officially underway!
Photos by Rob Chapman, Words by Alex Borsody
The Stanton Moore Trio joined by Anders Osborn brought a packed house to Brooklyn Bowl last Thursday night. The band started promptly around 9:30 and kicked things off with just The Stanton Moore Trio. Sitting in for Robert Walter on Hammond B3 was San Francisco’s first call session musician Wil Blades. The night was divided into two sets, the first with just the trio, playing funky, New Orleans inspired organ jazz, and the second a swampy blues set led by Anders Osborn. READ MORE
