Photo Credit: Blaine Schultz
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Thursday at the Johnson Controls World Stage, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s sound check was a performance in itself, a funky thing of beauty. The band simply eased into a vamp and the sound engineer dialed them in gradually. A few queries of “how does it sound out there?” and they all but hit the ground running
Four decades and counting, the New Orleans institution led by Gregory Davis on trumpet and vocals settled in and interpreted The Meters’ “Hey Pocky Way,” Dr. John’s “Right Place, Wrong Time” and a take on James Brown’s “Super Bad” that led into a bayou nocturne. Noise pollution from a nearby stage and a radio station trailer notwithstanding, the standing room only, overflow crowd was on the good foot from the git-go.
In a stroke of perfect timing, the show ended and as the bleachers began clearing, baritone sax player Roger Lewis remained—slyly blowing slow and low. The band rejoined him as the clarion call magically filled the seats again for an encore with a pair of lucky dancers to joining the band onstage.
