Monday, May 4, 2015

Louisiana: Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015



Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015, Louisiana


My report on the 2014 Baton Rouge Blues Fest here and here.

The 2015 Baton Rouge Blues Fest was kicked indoors due to thunderstormy weather. Sadly, this affected the turnout, and the venue's indoor vibe was that of a dull professional conference, which makes sense because it was a convention center. Neither affected the quality of music, however.


Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015, Louisiana. Arrested Development.


Arrested Development is a high-energy band, I tellya! The muscled woman on the right in the pic above must burn bajillions of calories with her joyous jumps. The woman in the yellow dress - lovely voice. Here's a 2009 video from the band, performing its 1993 hit Tennessee:



You can listen to a version of the song with much better sound quality here.


Then there was Lazy Lester.


Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015, Louisiana. Lazy Lester.


During his performance, I saw the most remarkable thing. He pulled out a harmonica and the moment he got down on that, women got up and started dancing. It was like magic. Doesn't matter how old the dude is playing the instrument. Lazy Lester was born in 1933.  Here's my video of same below:





Reminded me of this excerpt from the movie, Michael:




Henry Gray, a blues patriarch, performed on his keyboard.

Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015, Louisiana. Henry Gray.



I've seen him perform twice now. Both times,women felt compelled to shake their butts in his direction. Given his advanced years, I wonder how many women's behinds he's looked at over his keyboard.


Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015, Louisiana. Henry Gray.


Mr. Gray's not much of a stage talker, but I'd sure like to know his thoughts after decades (he's in his late 80s now) of watching his audiences. A video below:



I guess it's no wonder that some ultra-conservative groups like to ban dancing. A sure road to sin and perdition.


Hellfire and brimstone tract from an Arkansas c-store.

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