Lots of folks may be heading out of town for Memorial Day weekend, but there is still plenty of music happening in New Orleans.
Tonight, the Radiators play for the last time at the Maple Leaf Bar. It’s a full circle kind of feeling for lots of old “school” fishheads including your scribe. The Maple Leaf Bar was the first place that I saw the Radiators perform back in 1979. During the band’s major label heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they were too popular to play at the tiny bar. But over the last few years the watering hole on Oak Street has again become a popular place on the band’s itinerary. There is just something about the place that inspires musicians to bring it on.
If you’re not inclined to head to the Leaf or are more in the mindset of giving something back, then you must head to the Howlin’ Wolf for the Save PBS Benefit. No, it’s not another threat on public television, PBS stands for Porter, Batiste and Stoltz—as in George Porter Jr., Russell Batiste and Brian Stoltz—three of the most amazing funk players on the planet and members of the Funky Meters.
The band’s former management company is suing them, they are suing back and the whole thing is a gigantic legal cluster bomb. The worst-case scenario is that Porter Jr. could loose control of his financial stake in the Meters catalog. Those seminal songs, which have been sampled countless times, represent a significant part of his future income and in my opinion the loss would be similar in a sense to when Michael Jackson bought the Beatles catalog except that the members of the Beatles had other sources of income. Porter Jr. essentially supports himself by playing music. The catalog is his retirement fund. Support the cause!
Saturday night, my choice for musical entertainment is going down at Tipitina’s. Johnny Vidacovich (pictured) and Stanton Moore used to have a different relationship—that of teacher and student. But now the two drummers are sympathetic peers and have forged a bond of mutual appreciation and respect. Their New Thing doesn’t perform that often and a chance to see these two stalwarts mirroring each other on separate drum kits is a vision worth experiencing again.
They are expecting numerous special guests, as the show is also an early celebration of Vidacovich’s 62nd birthday. Anders Osborne, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Jumpin Johnny Sansone, and Cyril Neville are billed but many other notable musicians are likely to jump into the fray.
