REVIEW: Michael Arnone’s Crawfish Fest brings NOLA sounds to NJ

AUGUSTA, N.J. — The 27th-annual Michael Arnone’s Crawfish Fest brought crowds of people to the Sussex County Fairgrounds June 3-5 for a taste of New Orleans music and cuisine. Although threatening skies hovered for much of Sunday, most of the musicians and activities were unaffected, and the dedicated fans turned up for some crawfish eats and funky sounds.

Those attendees who camped for the weekend had the chance to hear the Zydeco Revelators, Flow Tribe and Bonerama play Friday night. The campers also had exclusive access to some late-night Saturday acts, including Big Sam’s Funky Nation.

Saturday’s main stage lineup included the violinist Amanda Shaw, who offered a spirited one-hour set. Playing before a sea of people who were either standing, sitting or camped out beneath tents, Shaw belted songs with her strong vocals and kept the rhythm with her furious violin playing. Her backing band kept pace and joined in the fun.

After Shaw came Papa Mali, who brought his unique style of swamp music to the growing crowd beneath sunny and humid temperatures. His one-hour set saw the performer couple his bluesy voice with some catchy guitar plucking.

As the bands played across four stages, fans either listened and danced, or headed for the food tents. This year’s Crawfish Fest included such NOLA-inspired favorites as red beans and rice, boudin balls, sausage and chicken jambalaya, poboys (roast beef, oyster, catfish and shrimp varieties), crawfish bread, crawfish étouffée, alligator sausage and spicy fried chicken.

The crown jewel of the food offerings was the boiled crawfish with corn on the cob and red potato. For only $10, concertgoers had the chance to grab an overflowing heap of these bug-looking shellfish, which were perfectly cooked with a variety of tantalizing and lip-numbing spices.

For those uninitiated on how to eat crawfish, sitting down and watching others was a necessity. Dedicated veterans would offer free tutorials. A person should grab the head with one hand and the tail with the other. A slight twist and pull brings the two sections apart. Many eaters suck some of the spicy goodness out of the head portion and then break into the tail, where most of the meat is stored. It takes a decent amount of work, but the payoff is spicy good.

After the crawfish eats, many people headed over to the pie and beignet tent, where the French pastries were a big hit. Other selections included bread pudding and warm pecan pie.

The second largest stage at Crawfish Fest is known as the pavilion. On Saturday, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes had the packed house dancing and shaking to their loud NOLA rock.

Recent Grammy winner Jon Cleary played with the Absolute Monster Gentlemen for nearly two hours in the pavilion. Earlier in the day, Cleary offered a 45-minute workshop that included some special selections on the keyboards, including “Tipitina” by Professor Longhair. Cleary’s recent album, the nine-track Go-Go Juice, provided several of his songs in his pavilion-stage setlist. Among the best were “Bringing Back the Home” and “Beg Steal or Borrow.” He also played a rendition of “Groove Me.”

Other Saturday musicians included Brass-a-Holics and local favorites From Good Homes on the main stage, and David Greely Trio and The Revelers on the dance hall stage, among other performers. The only rain on Saturday occurred briefly during From Good Homes’ outdoors set.

Sunday had the best chance for downpours and thunderstorms, so the crowds near the main stage were smaller and much more manageable. The number of lawn chairs and tents was fewer than Saturday, so this provided a more intimate experience.

Marcia Ball, from Austin, Texas, played before sprinkling showers for one hour to open up on Sunday. Her set was energetic, foot-tapping fun. She played several selections off her new album, Tattooed Lady & The Alligator Man. Although she’s from Texas, her music is a wonderful combination of many influences along the Gulf Coast, and her singing of the album’s title track and “The Squeeze Is On” were highlights.

If awards had to be given out, Ball may win “Artist of the Festival.” On Sunday, she went from her one-hour main stage set to a 45-minute workshop, where she offered stories and songs before a crowd of her fans. Her keyboards on “Red Hot” were memorable, and not to be outdone, she returned later in the day to play for nearly two hours beneath the pavilion. As the skies opened up and the rain poured, she played on and wished the fans goodbye as one of the final acts of the festival.

Other Sunday musicians included King James & The Special Men, who ushered in a welcome blues-inspired rock sound, and Samantha Fish, who kept the blues chugging along beneath the pavilion.

On the main stage, with constant threats of downpours, Cowboy Mouth played a furious, head-banging set for two hours. Lead singer Fred LeBlanc insisted the fans enjoy themselves, and he gave them several incentives to do so. The drummer / lead vocalist, in some ways, narrates his performance, trying to raise the energy levels of the crowd and instigate fun. Twice he headed out into the crowd, barefoot and determined, to gain support and ensure everyone was partying. If he didn’t like the fans’ response, he would stop the song and castigate them. For the encore, he welcomed the dedicated SRO crowd into the VIP pit for “Jenny Says.”

The band had a wonderful method of jumping from one song to the next. Rather than finishing, pausing and then restarting, LeBlanc would keep the drum thumping along, and he would shout out, “The name of the band is…” This would immediately elicit a response of “Cowboy Mouth.” Another common phrase: “Are you with me?” From the enthusiastic response, it appeared the concertgoers were with him.

Closing out the main stage were the funky Meters, featuring George Porter Jr. and Art Neville. Porter, standing center stage, had the bass bouncing along to the funky tunes, while Neville provided fitting accompaniment on the keyboards. In many ways, their set proved to be legendary. As serious downpours dumped water on the crowd, the band kept playing their funky music. It was only when the weather turned scarily intense, around the 40-minute mark in their set, that Porter took to the microphone and wished the crowd the best. It was time to be safe and get out of the rain. Those dedicated music lovers who were enjoying the performance headed over to the pavilion to catch Ball’s third set of the day, or they waited for the rains to let up and then enjoyed some food specials, including a catering tray of crawfish for $10.

Michael Arnone’s Crawfish Fest brought good eats and good sounds to the people of northern New Jersey. It was the cheapest way to head to New Orleans for a weekend.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

One can’t hear everyone, so here’s a list of the acts Hollywood Soapbox enjoyed, either fully or partially: Amanda Shaw, Papa Mali, Brass-a-Holics, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Marcia Ball, King James & The Special Men, Cowboy Mouth, Samantha Fish and the funky Meters.