REVIEW: NOLA legend Dr. John brings the funk to New Jersey
ENGLEWOOD, N.J. — Dr. John, the preeminent purveyor of bluesy funk, brought his classic tunes and recent interpretations of Louis Armstrong’s standards to the Bergen Performing Arts Center Wednesday, June 8. The concert found the good doctor masterfully playing the piano before an audience hanging on his every note.
Of course, any Dr. John concert is not simply about the piano playing, or the expert Nite Trippers who provided near-perfect accompaniment on drums, guitar and bass. It’s also a chance for this important and influential exporter of New Orleans music to offer his unique singing voice that only seems to grow better with age. On such songs as “Mack the Knife,” “Iko Iko” and the highlight of the night, “How Come My Dog Don’t Bark (When You Come ‘Round),” Dr. John’s voice rose and fell in stylistic pitch to pair with his careful and precise playing of the piano.
On “How Come My Dog Don’t Bark,” he would stop at the chorus and point right at the audience, simulating the character in the song who is suspicious and jealous of a man apparently having an affair with his wife. The energized point to the crowd, coming at the exact right time as the lyrics rolled off his lips, showed the power and pomp of the performer.
On his biggest hit, “Right Place, Wrong Time,” Dr. John moved to the nearby keyboards to offer perhaps the funkiest tune of the night. It was an expert rendition of a classic song that has come to define his sound and style. If audience members weren’t singing along, they were surely shaking their shoulders and bopping their heads to the infectious rhythms.
Dr. John tours frequently, and his latest album is Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch, an updated and thoroughly original take on Armstrong’s songbook. Some of his renditions of classic tunes on the album, including “Mack the Knife” and “What a Wonderful World,” are almost unrecognizable from the original, which makes them wholly new and wonderfully nostalgic at the same time. A couple of selections from the new release were included in the setlist at the BergenPAC.
Other notable songs in the setlist included the clever “The Monkey Speaks Its Mind,” “Black Widow Spider” and, of course, “Such a Night.” The piano playing on “Black Widow Spider” was especially noteworthy.
Dr. John is one of the most important musicians to come out of New Orleans, a standard-bearer for music originality who influences others and takes liberally from the genres of funk, blues and rock. The singer’s relatively recent outfit, the Nite Trippers, seem nicely matched to his voice and wonderfully, sometimes maddeningly brilliant piano playing. He’s a rightful legend, someone who still offers his tunes to an adoring crowd.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
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