I don’t have much time to write about this performance, but I’ll just put it out there as proof that The Funky Meters are still a band in full swing and that Art “Poppa Funk” Neville can still play like the 75 year old legend that he is.
This was one of the most enjoyable sets of the weekend for me. Maybe it was the flask of rum in my pocket, or maybe it was just the joy exuding from both the players and the crowd. I suspect it was a combination of both along with the magical atmosphere of the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park.
There are some nice sit-ins on this set by Pee Wee Ellis, Billy Iuso, Nikki Glaspie, Ivan Neville and Ian Neville.
The Funky Meters
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Live Oak, FL @ Bear Creek Music Festival Part 1 of 2: Jam > Funkify Your Life > Look-Ka Py Py > Soul Island > Hang Em High
The Funky Meters
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Live Oak, FL @ Bear Creek Music Festival Part 2 of 2: (Doodle Oop) The World Is A Little Bit Under The Weather (with Pee Wee Ellis) > Keep On Marching (with Pee Wee Ellis) > Art chastises George > Love Slip Up On Ya (with Billy Iuso) > Fire On The Bayou (with Billy Iuso & Nikki Glaspie)
The Funky Meters: Art “Poppa Funk” Neville: keys, vocals George Porter Jr: keys, vocals Brian Stoltz: keys, vocals Russell Batiste Jr: drums, vocals
AUDIO: Schoeps mk22/cmc6 } Sound Devices 788 by Steve Bazley
VIDEO 1: Canon Vixia HF21 by RLBayers
VIDEO 2: Zoom Q3 by Adam Firtel of CHeeSeHeaDPRoDuCTioNS
And here’s the end of the show, shot by just CHeeSeHeaDPRoDuCTioNS:
Cissy Strut > People Say (w/ Ivan Neville & Ian Neville) > Welcome To New Orleans (w/ Ivan Neville & Ian Neville) > Ain’t No Use (w/ Ivan Neville & Ian Neville)
Dr. Klaw is a funk super unit: 2 parts Lettuce, 2 parts Dumpstaphunk. The other part is usually the soulful keys man extraordinaire Nigel Hall, but on this occasion Nigel was replaced by Sir Ivan Neville since Nigel was out on the road making that big money with the Warren Haynes Band. (Although Nigel did get Warren to drop him off the next day so he could briefly rage Bear Creek with Eric Krasno’s Chapter 2 and Lettuce).
Anyway, Dr. Klaw mixed it up with several guests. They welcomed sit-ins by the Shady Horns (Sam Kininger and Ryan Zoidis) augmented by artist at large Jonathan Lloyd on trombone. Robert Walter snuck in on the organ a few times, and up-and-comer Jamie McLean added some very tasteful shredding guitar parts on several tunes. (Check Jamie out on these videos of the secret Tree House After Party Jam Session). It was also nice to hear Ivan Neville get down on a synthesizer, an instrument he doesn’t take on the road and you don’t hear him play very often.
By the time this performance ended at 3:30am Saturday morning our ears were exhausted by over 12 hours of literally non-stop funk, yet we had 2 more days of blissful aural delights forthcoming….
Dr. Klaw
November 11, 2011
Live Oak, FL @ Bear Creek Music Festival
(1) I Believe It
(2) The Same Thing [Sly Stone cover]
(2) The Lost Rager (w/ Jonathan Lloyd, Ryan Zoidis & Sam Kininger)
Dr. Klaw
November 11, 2011
Live Oak, FL @ Bear Creek Music Festival
(1) God Made Me Funky [Headhunters cover] (w/ Robert Walter, Jamie McLean, Jonathan Lloyd, Ryan Zoidis & Sam Kininger)
(2) Hercules [Aaron Neville cover] (w/ Nikki Glaspie, Robert Walter, Jamie McLean, Jonathan Lloyd, & Ryan Zoidis)
(3) Higher Ground [Stevie Wonder cover] (w/ Andrew Block, Jamie McLean & Sam Kininger)
(4) Beef (w/ Jamie McLean)
Dr. Klaw: Nick “Dr. Klaw” Daniels III: bass, vocals Ian Neville: guitar Adam Deitch: drums Eric Krasno: guitar Ivan Neville: keys, vocals (replacing Nigel Hall)
VIDEO 1: Canon Vixia HF21 by RLBayers
VIDEO 2: Zoom Q3 by Adam Firtel of CHeeSeHeaDPRoDuCTioNS
AUDIO: Sony ECM-MS908C (front row on video camera) + LiveMusicNola‘s mix (32 channel multi-track using all channels from the stage + 2 rooms mics)
It’s not often you get to see master New Orleans drummer Johnny Vidacovich play outside the city of New Orleans. But last November at Bear Creek Music Festival the man was everywhere sitting in with at least 5 different acts. I captured quite a big chunk of Bear Creek with my video camera, and I got some great footage of JohnnyV.
First I want to share a few videos of The Trio (which is the name of Johnny’s weekly Thursday night gig at the Maple Leaf, whether it involves 3 players or not). This particular Trio gig featured George Porter Jr on bass along with Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet. Freekbass was also a special guest for this set.
The Trio: Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter Jr & Jennifer Hartswick
Sunday, November 13, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
(4 of 4) Big Chief:
The Trio: Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter Jr & Jennifer Hartswick (w/ Freekbass)
Sunday, November 13, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
(2 of 4) Don’t Be Squeezin’ My Heart:
The Trio: Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter Jr & Jennifer Hartswick (w/ Freekbass)
Sunday, November 13, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
(3 of 4) Don’t Be Squeezin’ My Heart (cont.):
The Trio: Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter Jr & Jennifer Hartswick
Sunday, November 13, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
(1 of 4) Careful Who You Idolize:
Next up is JohnnyV sitting in with Jon Cleary‘s “Piano, Bass & Drums” group, which features Johnny’s longtime Astral Project collaborator James Singleton on bass. BTW, the drummer on the second video here is Doug Belote, a drummer of quite some repute down in Cajun country. [Interesting factoid, Doug Belote briefly replaced Raymond Weber in Dumpstaphunk for a short run of shows in December of 2010 when Raymond was busy filming episodes of the HBO TV show Treme.]
Jon Cleary: Piano, Bass & Drums (w/ Johnny Vidacovich)
Saturday, November 12, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
Reconsider Baby, Get Low Down:
Jon Cleary: Piano, Bass & Drums
Saturday, November 12, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
I Get The Blues, Tipitina:
Finally, I have some videos of Johnny sitting in with Marco Benevento performing the James Booker classic, Junco Partner. After that is a few more Marco Benevento videos, including one where Marco passes me his bottle of Makers Mark from the stage. That was a good start to the afternoon!
Marco Benevento (w/ Johnny Vidacovich)
Sunday, November 13, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
Junco Partner (James Booker cover) (1 of 2):
Marco Benevento (w/ Johnny Vidacovich)
Sunday, November 13, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
Junco Partner (James Booker cover) (2 of 2):
Marco Benevento (w/ Robert Walter)
Sunday, November 13, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
You Know I’m No Good (Amy Winehouse cover):
Marco Benevento
Saturday, November 12, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
Greenpoint, The Real Morning Party:
Marco Benevento
Saturday, November 12, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
The Real Morning Party (cont.), Atari:
Marco Benevento
Saturday, November 12, 2011 @ Bear Creek Music Festival
Hearbeats (The Knife cover):
And if you made it this far, then you are certainly a big JohnnyV fan. At that, you will be glad to know that Johnny was recently added to the Live Music Archive. I have recently uploaded over 30 audio recordings spanning from 2001 to 2011 and they are all available to be streamed or downloaded for free over at http://www.archive.org/details/JohnnyVidacovich.
