George Porter Jr’s Runnin’ Pardners
November 11, 2012
Live Oak, FL @ Bear Creek Music Festival – Big IV Amphitheater
PART 1 of 3:
Funksomethingness > Hey Now Baby, Whatcha Say, ???
PART 2 of 3:
Mister Charlie [Grateful Dead cover] (with Billy Iuso & James Casey)
Smokestack Lightnin’ [Howlin’ Wolf cover] (with Billy Iuso & Pee Wee Ellis)
Sailin’ Shoes > (with Brayden Iuso & Roosevelt Collier)
Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley (with Roosevelt Collier)
PART 3 of 3:
Drum solo > I Get High > I Need More Time (with Ike Stubblefield, Eric Krasno, Skerik & James Casey)
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.
New Orleans Jazz Fest late night. 2:15am start time at the House of Blues Parish (the small room), right after the sold out Original Meters gig at Howlin’ Wolf. It don’t stop.