Robert Walter brought the revamped lineup of his 20th Congress band to Bear Creek last year. Watching the dynamic collaboration unfold between Walter and New Orleans-bred drum phenom Simon Lott is nothing short of joyful; as you can see in the clips below they are loving playing together. Add to that the veteran Daptones saxophonist Cochemea Gastelum and scene newcomer Josh Perdue on guitar on bass and the funk flow gets mighty tight!
For their Friday late night set at the inside Technaflora Music Hall stage, Walter and crew got super loose with an encore of 1970’s electric-era Miles Davis covers that topped off the long day of music with a cherry on top. Below that are a few other videos from the last night set with Eddie Roberts of The New Mastersounds joining on guitar. Below that is a few songs from the 20th Congress’ mid-day set the next afternoon. Enjoy!
Robert Walter’s 20th Congress – Friday, November 15, 2013
Live Oak, FL @ Bear Creek Music Festival – Technaflora Music Hall
What I Say > Honky Tonk [Miles Davis covers]
Robert Walter’s 20th Congress – Friday, November 15, 2013
Live Oak, FL @ Bear Creek Music Festival – Technaflora Music Hall
Kool Is Back [Funk Inc cover] (with Chris Stillwell & Mike Dillon)
Corry’s Snail & Slug Death (with Eddie Roberts)
Funky Soul [David Batiste & The Gladiators cover] (with Eddie Roberts)
I Can’t Help It [Smokey Johnson cover]:
Robert Walter’s 20th Congress – Saturday, November 16, 2013
Live Oak, FL @ Bear Creek Music Festival – Purple Hat Stage
Corry’s Snail & Slug Death, Get Thy Bearings [Donovan cover], Dog Party, Maple Plank [Stanton Moore cover]
P.S. Check out these videos of Simon Lott with Marco Benevento & Reed Matthis back in 2009 here.
Khris Royal & Dark Matter w/ Doug Wimbish (Part 1 of 6)
unknown song:
Khris Royal & Dark Matter w/ Doug Wimbish (Part 2 of 6):
unknown song:
Khris Royal & Dark Matter w/ Doug Wimbish & Corey Clover (Part 3 of 6)
Sex Machine [James Brown cover]:
Khris Royal & Dark Matter w/ Doug Wimbish & Corey Clover (Part 4 of 6)
Superstition [Stevie Wonder cover]:
Khris Royal & Dark Matter w/ Doug Wimbish & Corey Clover (Part 5 of 6)
Superstition [Stevie Wonder cover] (continued):
Khris Royal & Dark Matter w/ Living Colour (Part 6 of 6)
Love Rears Its Ugly Head:
Meanwhile…. downstairs…
Royal Potato Family Allstars (Skerik, Mike Dillon, John Speice, Reed Matthis, Marco Benevento, Robert Walter, Carly Myers)
5/4/13 New Orleans, LA @ Blue Nile:
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.
