Double Tsunami of Funk Hits Revolution Live: Trombone Shorty and Dumpstaphunk
A double tsunami of the most funk-tastic ambassadors of New Orleans rhythm and soul hit Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, September 30 as Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, along with openers Dumpstaphunk, burned the place to the ground, taking an ecstatic audience with them.
Now we’ve all been to shows that are sparsely attended for the opening act. Not here. Not this time. The place was packed with a crowd that understood just how electric and powerful this night would be. By the time Dumpstaphunk took the stage and tore into Buddy Miles’ “United Nation Stomp,” the crowd was already bumping and swaying as a wave of funk rolled over them.
If there was any doubt that there would be no sitting tonight, singer/guitarist/bassist Tony Hall traded his electric guitar for a bass to join Nick Daniels III for the double bass attack that is the foundation of one of the filthiest rhythm sections around for “Let’s Get At It.” Bumping through “Blueswave,” “Water” and “Do Ya,” the band let loose a muscular version of Stevie Wonder’s classic “You Haven’t Done Nothin’.” This followed by “Sounds,” where founding father of the band and one of the hardest working musicians in the universe, Ivan Neville, blazed on keyboards and vocals, while guitarist Ian Neville and drummer John Staten from the Pimps of Joytime funked it up even more.
And just when we, the audience, thought it might be safe to cool our jets just a little, Ivan’s troupe of funk-masters crushed us with a Mack truck filled with the goose-bump-inducing arrangement of jazz, soul and funk known as “Justice.” We barely got to pick ourselves off the floor before we were smacked with Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” and finished off with the funk/dance anthem “Dancin’ To The Truth.”
By the time the stage was set up for Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, the dance floor was stuffed to capacity with revelers shoulder-to- shoulder – hot, sweaty and vibrating with anticipation (just how I like it). An ebullient Shorty and band laid claim to the stage with “Buckjump,” which had the kind of horn work on display that turns the uninitiated into brass lovers.
For those not familiar with Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue (do those people really exist?), describing the band’s sound and live performances is like trying to describe a hurricane to people who have never been in one. They don’t make a category for Shorty, born Troy Andrews. He once called his music “supafunkrock,” which falls far short of what he actually does. Think Jimi Hendrix, if he played a trombone, backed up by AC/DC and A Tribe Called Quest, if they were New Orleans brass bands, and you might come close.
Mostly, what this band does is find new ways to bring joy to an audience. They are wildly good at it. After all, they were steeped in the party and musical culture of New Orleans where people dance at funerals. Their performance at Revolution Live did not disappoint, a word that is not in their vocabulary.
Joined by Ivan Neville on keyboards, the band followed “Buckjump” with vintage soul –The Meters’ “Ain’t No Use” – where Shorty’s vocals were on full-throated display along with a BK Jackson, whose extended, rollicking sax solo conjured the jumpin’ jazz beats of their hometown.
Next up, guitarist Pete Murano soared on “Sistamamalover” by Shorty’s mentor, Lenny Kravitz. The song was just the excuse that BK Jackson, baritone saxophonist Dan Oestreicher, and bassist Mike Bass-Bailey needed to demonstrate some off-da-heezie dance moves while simultaneously playing their instruments.
The breathy beat of horns ushered in Allen Toussaint’s “Here Comes The Girls” with Troy doing what he does best on the trombone, followed by “Shortyville” and “One Night Only,” where drummer Joey Peebles and Mike Bass-Bailey on bass shook sections of the stage loose. A funked-up, hip hop-infused version of “Where It At” came next, to the delight of the crowd bouncing on the dance floor in one huge, undulating, amoeba-like mass. As if that wasn’t enough, the machine-gun rhythms of “Lose My Mind” mashed up with James Brown’s “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine” sent the audience into a frenzy.
Just when we thought we had nothing left to give, the band tumbled headlong into Green Day’s “Brain Stew,” by far one of my favorite covers done by any band, anywhere. I’ve heard the band play this song a number of times live, and it always starts with a vibration somewhere deep in the solar plexus that radiates up the spine and explodes out of the head. No different here.
The kicker is watching Dan Oestreicher, affectionately nicknamed “Uncle Dan” by some of his fans, go completely gonzo-rager, rock-god dancing with and playing that big baritone sax like his life depended on it. Shorty and his band attack this song like men possessed, and it’s a thing of beauty to watch. After that, there was nothing left to do but bring the crowd down gently with the beautiful, soulful strains of “No Good Time.”
Just about wrung out and spent, this audience was not leaving without an encore, which came in crowd favorites “Do To Me” and “Hurricane Season,” where Shorty demonstrates his trumpeting skills and mastery of a hugely difficult technique called circular breathing. The length of the continuous sound produced by breathing in through the nose, while exhaling through the mouth and simultaneously using air stored in the cheeks, kills lesser humans. But, not Troy. He literally blew the deliriously happy crowd away.