One of the things I always enjoyed about living in New Orleans during my college years, was all of the great live music.
It was everywhere… at parties, funerals, or even random neighborhood block parties. And during Mardi Gras season, the music came out in full effect from brass bands to deejays, providing the soundtrack to Carnival season. It was nothing to walk through the French Quarter on any given day and hear a horn blaring the chorus to “Do What You Wanna” or walk into a party and hear the syncopated rhythmic thump and bass that only New Orleans’ bounce music can produce.
Fortunately, during this year’s Mardi Gras season you don’t have to take a road trip four or five hours away to hear that sound because starting this weekend through Feb. 17, Fatty Arbuckles is bringing it right here to the Red River District.
The fun kicks off this Friday night with Earphunk, a funk quintet which was originally formed as an outlet of fun and musical creativity between friends. However, since then, the band has been spreading smooth funk from their May 2011 debut album, “Comin’ Up,” at some of New Orleans’ hottest venues, like Tipitina’s and the Maple Leaf as well as throughout the rest of the country.
The weekend gets even hotter when popular brass band, The Stooges Brass Band, takes the stage Saturday night. The young band recently won the 2011 Big Easy Music Award for Best Contemporary Brass Band, with Bestofneworleans.com describing their shows as “one of the most entertaining, audience-interactive shows of any band on the scene.”
When you look at this video of their awesome live cover of Chick Corea’s “Spain” it’s easy to see why.
The rest of the lineup includes the world-renowned, Grammy-nominated funk jazz band, Rebirth Brass Band, Feb. 3; Shreveport’s own eclectic rock/reggae band, Dubonauts, Feb. 4; the colorful, genre-blending Flow Tribe, Feb. 10 and one of Crescent City’s hottest deejays, DJ Quickie Mart, Feb. 17.
So now there’s no excuse not to get your Mardi Gras funk on this season. The Earphunk show starts at 11 p.m. Check back here for more information about these upcoming shows.
