Dr. Klaw’s epic funk throwdown with Ivan Neville & guests at Bear Creek Music Fest 2011

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)

P.S. If these videos aren’t enough, check out more videos of Dr. Klaw on the Creole Queen Riverboat during Jazz Fest 2011.

Dr. Klaw on the Creole Queen Riverboat, NOLA Jazz Fest 2011

IS IT BEAR CREEK YET?

Before I hit the road to my first Bear Creek Music Festival, I have to unleash my videos of Dr. Klaw on the Creole Queen Riverboat during New Orleans Jazz Fest 2011. The full video is on youtube in six parts, listed below. I recommend watching in HD in 1080p or 720p. Also, if you are so inclined, the DVD is available to download at The Trader’s Den.

I’ve posted about Dr. Klaw before. For those that don’t know, Dr. Klaw is a supergroup featuring Nick Daniels III and Ian Neville (both of Dumpstaphunk), along with Adam Deitch, Eric Krasno & Nigel Hall (of Lettuce, Soulive, Chapter Two, etc.). Basically, Dr. Klaw is a special conglomeration that only plays shows at Jazz Fest and Bear Creek (and sometimes Jam Cruise). Word is that they’ve been in the studio and will be releasing their new album at Bear Creek next week.

This video documents their only performance this year (until Bear Creek next weekend), and features several original tunes, as well as two Parliament covers that feature The Shady Horns (Ryan Zoidis, Sam Kinninger, & Rashawn Ross). The video was shot from right up front (because there really was no other way to see the band considering that the stage was only a few inches tall) with a Canon Vixia HF21 video camera and a Sony ECM-MS908C stereo mic. The audio is raw, dominated by Deitch’s cymbals and rim shots, but is still very listenable compared to the quality of most of the stuff you find on youtube. Enjoy, spread the word, and I’ll see you after what is sure to be an incredible Bear Creek Music Festival weekend!

Dr. Klaw – Part 1 of 6 – Beef, I Believe It: