When you’re in New Orleans for Jazz Fest, there’s nothing like catching a Funky Meters show to reassure you that you’re in the right place at the right time. But, as we know, the Funky Meters only contain 2 of the original Meters band members, namely Art “Poppa Funk” Neville and George Porter, Jr.
That’s why the 2012 Jazz Fest became so exciting when it was announced that all 4 of the Original Meters would be playing their first club gig in New Orleans in over 30 years! Yes, we’re talking about all 4 original members: Art “Poppa Funk” Neville on organ, George Porter, Jr. on bass, Leo Nocentelli on guitar and Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste on drums.
Yes, these 4 original Meters members have reunited sporadically for shows in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (and for a few festival gigs in 2011). Yes, they’ve played New Orleans before. But this felt like the real homecoming. The price was steep, but for the few that could get in, it was worth every penny. Art showed that he can still play ferociously, despite his age of, in his words,“74 fuckin years old”. Although Zigaboo did joke about the senior citizen status of the band, they hardly played like it. Judge for yourself, because here I bring you 47 minutes of footage from this now legendary show.
The Original Meters
May 5, 2012 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
Fire On The Bayou, Africa > Look-Ka Py Py > Funky Miracle, Encore: People Say:
Also, here is the set closing Ain’t No Use, shot by photographer Marc Millman. I strongly suggest that you check out some of his photos from this show and even consider purchasing framable prints of his beautiful imagery.
By the way, you can download the full audio from this show here.
VIDEO 1: George Porter Jr + Soulive + James Casey on sax, Eric Bloom on trumpet, Natalie Cressman on trombone, Ryan Zoidis on sax + Ivan Neville & Nigel Hall guesting on keys
Funky Miracle > I Need More Time > Funky Miracle:
VIDEO 2: George Porter Jr + Soulive + James Casey on sax, Eric Bloom on trumpet, Natalie Cressman on trombone, Ryan Zoidis on sax + Ivan Neville & Nigel Hall guesting on keys
Funky Miracle > I Need More Time > Funky Miracle (continued):
VIDEO 3: George Porter Jr, Adam Deitch, Nigel Hall, Mike Wooten on guitar + James Casey on sax, Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet, Natalie Cressman on trombone, Joe Cohen on sax
The Chicken (James Brown cover):
VIDEO 4: George Porter Jr, Adam Deitch, Nigel Hall, Mike Wooten on guitar + James Casey on sax, Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet, Natalie Cressman on trombone, Joe Cohen on sax + Nikki Glaspie on backup vox and Robert Walter guesting on keys
The World Is A Ghetto (War cover):
VIDEO 5: George Porter Jr, Adam Deitch, Nigel Hall, Mike Wooten on guitar + James Casey on sax, Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet, Natalie Cressman on trombone, Joe Cohen on sax + Nikki Glaspie on backup vox and Robert Walter guesting on keys
The World Is A Ghetto (War cover) (continued):
VIDEO 6: George Porter Jr, Eddie Roberts, Robert Walter, Nikki Glaspie & Roosevelt Collier
Ain’t No Use (To Cut You Loose) [lower quality audio, shot without external mic]:
VIDEO 7: Eddie Roberts, Robert Walter, Nikki Glaspie & Joe Cohen on sax
Flood In Franklin Park (Grant Green cover):
VIDEO 8: Eddie Roberts, Robert Walter, Nikki Glaspie & Joe Cohen on sax
Louisiana Slim (Leon Spencer cover):
If you want more, Marc Millman Photography has some videos from this show on his youtube page. Please check out his site and support his work, he has prints available for sale and his photography is fantastic.
Here are Marc’s videos from this show:
Alecia Chakour, George Porter Jr, Neal Evans & Robert Walters, Eddie Roberts, Nikki Glaspie + James Casey on sax, Natalie Cressman on trombone, Nigel Hall on tambourine and background vox
Piece Of My Heart (Janis Joplin cover):
George Porter Jr, Nigel Hall, Eddie Roberts, Nikki Glaspie + James Casey on sax, Joe Cohen on sax, Eric Krasno guesting on keys
Leave Me Alone:
George Porter Jr, Adam Deitch, Robert Walter, Will Bernard + Joe Cohen on sax
He Bite Me (The Dragon) [beginning missing, including guitar solo, due to mic problems]:
George Porter Jr, Adam Deitch, Nigel Hall, Mike Wooten on guitar + James Casey on sax, Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet, Natalie Cressman on trombone, Joe Cohen on sax
The Chicken (James Brown cover) [complete, including first 2 minutes missing from my video]:
01. Funky Miracle > I Need More Time > Funky Miracle (George Porter Jr, Soulive, James Casey, Eric Bloom, Natalie Cressman, Ryan Zoidis, then joined by Ivan Neville & Nigel Hall)
02. Piece Of My Heart > Mr. Big Stuff > Piece of My Heart (Alecia Chakour, George Porter Jr, Neal Evans, Robert Walters, Eddie Roberts, Nikki Glaspie, James Casey, Natalie Cressman & Nigel Hall on tambourine & background vox)
03. Leave Me Alone (George Porter Jr, Nigel Hall, Eddie Roberts, Nikki Glaspie, James Casey, Joe Cohen, Eric Krasno on keys)
04. The Chicken (George Porter Jr, Adam Deitch, Nigel Hall, Mike Wooten, James Casey, Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, Joe Cohen)
05. The World Is A Ghetto (George Porter Jr, Adam Deitch, Nigel Hall, Mike Wooten, James Casey, Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, Joe Cohen, Nikki Glaspie on background vox, Robert Walter)
06. Happy Birthday Robert Walter
07. He Bite Me (The Dragon) (George Porter Jr, Adam Deitch, Robert Walter, Will Bernard, Joe Cohen)
08. Aint No Use (To Cut You Loose) (George Porter Jr, Eddie Roberts, Robert Walter, Nikki Glaspie & Roosevelt Collier)
George Porter Jr – bass, vocals Eric Krasno – guitar Alan Evans – drums Neal Evans – keys James Casey – sax Eric Bloom – trumpet Natalie Cressman – trombone Ryan Zoidis – sax Ivan Neville – keys Nigel Hall – keys, tambourine, background vocals Alecia Chakour – vocals Robert Walter – keys Eddie Roberts – guitar Nikki Glaspie – drums, background vocals Joe Cohen – keys Mike Wooten – guitar Jennifer Hartswick – trumpet Will Bernard – guitar Roosevelt Collier – steel guitar
Nearly a year ago, during the 2nd weekend of the 2011 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the 4th Annual SF Management Crawfish Boil kicked off at the Maple Leaf Bar. The music started at 7pm, so you’d have to forego your after-jazz fest nap if you wanted to see this show. All proceeds from the event were donated to the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation.
Shari Frank, the event coordinator, always makes it a point to put together a unique combination of musicians. For 2011, it was Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, and Tony Hall (from Dumpstaphunk) with David Russell Batiste (from The Funky Meters). Mark Rechler’s Circus Mind opened the show with choice covers such as Bill Wither‘s Use Me and Joe Cocker‘s version of Traffic‘s Feelin Alright. Midway, Gaynielle Neville, Cyril Neville‘s lovely wife, and her entourage stormed the stage for a few originals and a romp through the Sly & The Family Stone classic, Everyday People.
Video 1 of 4: Ain’t No Use (To Cut You Loose) [w/ Mark Rechler & Steve Finkelstein],
Doodle Oop (The World Is A Little Bit Under The Weather) [w/ Steve Finkelstein]
Slowly, the musicians filtered in and out, before we were left with 3/4th of Dumpstaphunk (Ivan Neville, Ian Neville & Tony Hall) + 1/4 of The Funky Meters (Russell Batiste). This is when things got interesting with some very deep cuts from The Meters‘ time-honored back catalog. What’cha Say. Gettin’ Funkier All The Time. These are Meters tunes that rarely if ever have been played live by either the original lineup or the Funky Meters lineup. Ivan and his friends put forth faithful interpretations that also expanded into heavy funk improvisations. Mojo Hannah, a Tami Lynn tune that was a staple of The Neville Brothers‘ repertoire was particularly soulful.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get much funkier, Cyril Neville busted onto the stage with an exhilarating performance of The Meters’ Chug A Lug, which then turned into a percussion jam between Cyril and Russell Batiste. Then Ivan teased in the chords of Zigaboo Modeliste‘s crescent city anthem, Welcome To New Orleans. That’s when my crew and I knew that we’d arrived.
Video 2 of 4: Chug A Lug [w/ Cyril Neville] > Welcome To New Orleans [w/ Cyril Neville]
Video 3 of 4:Gettin’ Funkier All The Time, Just Kissed My Baby
Video 4 of 4:What’Cha Say, Mojo Hannah,
The Same Thing (Makes You Laugh, Makes You Cry) [w/ Steve Finkelstein]
The full audio recording of this performance is available to stream or download over at Live Music Archive.
And if you’re interested in the 2012 SF Management Crawfish Boil, to take place on Saturday, May 5th, go to the SF Management website.
