A Festival of One-Shots and Shoulda-Beens - Ponderosa Stomp rock/jazz/blues fest in New Orleans

NY Times ^ | April 30, 2009 | By JON PARELES

[a fool in paradise]

“You’ll be back again,” sang Barry & the Remains, starting their headlining set on Tuesday night at the eighth annual Ponderosa Stomp. It’s a song about a straying girlfriend, but the Remains could have been singing about themselves and many of the four dozen acts — rockabillies, bluesmen, R&B shouters, swamp-rockers, honky-tonkers, psychedelic bands — playing the House of Blues here in the Stomp’s two nights of nine-hour shows.

In the mid-1960s Barry & the Remains toured the United States with the Beatles and made an album of crafty, surly garage-rock. Then they broke up, becoming one more rock-history footnote.

But there are lives beyond the footnotes. Musicians turn to other groups or jobs, and recordings linger, awaiting rediscovery. The Ponderosa Stomp finds the musicians behind the vinyl relics, and on the Stomp’s two stages many of its performers defied gray hair and wrinkles to belt 50-year-old songs with rowdy intent...

There’s something wistful about the Ponderosa Stomp, with so many performers whose early triumphs were fleeting, and some whose voices haven’t been treated well by time. But more often, there’s exhilaration, a chance to prove that for many of the musicians, the spirit in their songs has long outlasted their youth. L. C. Ulmer, a bluesman from Mississippi born in 1928, played eerie, droning, irregular rural-style solo blues, now electrified. At one point he was joined onstage by three women in burlesque costumes, shimmying by his side. He finished the song exultantly: “I feel like I’m 16 again!”

[a fool in paradise]

Cyril Jordan, left, and Roy Loney, formerly Flamin’ Groovies band mates, performing at the Ponderosa Stomp Wednesday night.

Their first time onstage together since 1971...

Another Stomp will happen this summer in New York at the Lincoln Center.

[mylife]

Flaming Groovies~In The U.S.A.

[a fool in paradise]

Details on the summer showcase should be here...

http://www.ponderosastomp.com/

http://www.lincolncenter.org/asc_load_screen.asp?screen=LCF_Ponderosa_Stomp

Thursday, July 16, 2009 6:30 PM
Damrosch Park - Midsummer Night Swing 2009

Midsummer Night Swing

This dance party pays homage to the pioneers of R&B, featuring William Bell, one of the architects of the Stax-Volt sound; Harvey Scales, funk singer and writer of Disco Lady; and doo-wop sweethearts The Bobbettes, of the hit tune Mr. Lee. These trailblazing artists are all backed by the Memphis soul stew sound of The Bo-Keys.

Friday, July 17, 2009 6:30 PM
Damrosch Park - Midsummer Night Swing 2009

Midsummer Night Swing

Rock n’ roll’s country cousin is coming to the big city. This array of rockabilly Hall-of-Famers includes The Collins Kids, comprised of the double neck guitar whiz Larry and his sister Lorrie; legendary Sun Records singer Carl Mann; and a rare New York appearance by Cajun stomp rocker Joe Clay, all playing with the house band Deke Dickerson and the Eccofonics.

A Tribute to Wardell Quezergue
Ponderosa Stomp @ Lincoln Center
Sunday, July 19, 2009 8:00 PM
Alice Tully Hall, Starr Theater

Lincoln Center Festival

For more than 45 years, composer/arranger Wardell Quezergue has unassumingly made musical history as the man behind an amazing number of timeless hits including Mr. Big Stuff, Iko Iko, and Chapel of Love. A New Orleans native fondly referred to as the “Creole Beethoven” by Allen Toussaint, Querzergue’s style and artistic mark have helped to shape southern music, melding the soulful sounds of Mississippi, Memphis, and New Orleans into giant hits.

For one night only, the Festival mounts an encore tribute performance straight from the successful premiere at the 2008 Ponderosa Stomp concert. Featuring high-octane artists, the line-up includes New Orleans musician, producer, and session man Mac Rebennack (Dr. John); R&B icons The Dixie Cups and Robert Parker; soul greats Jean Knight, Dorothy Moore, Tammy Lynn, and Tony Owens; legendary New Orleans drummer Zigaboo Modeliste; garage-music pioneer Michael Hurtt; plus Wardell Quezergue’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, an all-star ten-piece band led by Quezergue himself in a rare New York appearance. This performance is approximately one hour and thirty with no intermission.

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I’d actually expected something a little more major and off the wall at the Lincoln Center like the Sonics or Groovies...

Still to get this level of entertainment for 3 nights for $50 in NYC is a bargain.