“Medicine Show” was a night to remember, and if all goes well, you might be able to pick up CD highlights of the memorial concert this fall. The Dec. 26 benefit for the Dr. Tommy Comeaux Endowed Fund for Traditional Music at the University of Southwestern Louisiana raised about $20,000, and the six-band show made for a great send-off party for the late multi-instrumentalist and pathologist.
Highlights ranged from Basin Brother Al Berard’s Stratocaster workout on Eric Johnson’s “Cliffs of Dover” to an electrifying version of “Congo Square” that featured a fiery exchange of solos from fiddler Michael Doucet and guitarist Sonny Landreth.
Doucet’s wife Sharon and son Matthew joined BeauSoleil to perform the Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris tune “In My Hour of Darkness,” and Landreth joined the group for a version of “Chez Seychelles” during which the fiddler put down his bow to solo on one of Comeaux’s mandolins.
The seven-hour show was recorded on a 24-track digital rig, and early indications are positive for a single or double disc release. Fifty posters signed by participating musicians sold out quickly, but unsigned versions of designer Megan Barra’s photo collage of Comeaux in the shape of a blue-toned guitar are still available for $25.
For a copy of the poster, call the Acadiana Arts Council at (318) 233-7060. To make a tax-deductible contribution to the endowed fund, call the USL Development Office at (318) 262-1188.
The forecast says … There’s a 60 percent chance a Cajun group will walk away with a Grammy award for best traditional folk album. Recently announced nominees from the Bayou State include BeauSoleil’s “L’Amour ou la Folie,” Jo-El Sonnier’s “Cajun Pride” and The Hackberry Ramblers’ “Deep Water.”
The awards ceremony takes place Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25, and the competition in the traditional folk category includes The New Lost City Ramblers’ “There Ain’t No Way Out” and Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin’s “Heart Songs: The Old Time Country Songs of Utah Phillips.”
Ben Sandmel, Hackberry Ramblers drummer/manager and head of Hot Biscuits Records, said he’s “very excited and pretty surprised” about the nod from NARAS voters.
“I really still can’t quite believe it,” the man of many hats said, noting that not only is he the “littlest” label up for the award, but now he can claim that his entire catalog is Grammy-nominated. (“Deep Water” is Hot Biscuits’ first and only release to date.)
“So many people are so down on the Grammys for being so political,” Sandmel said. “That a little guy can come in under radar might inspire some other people to try it.”
The work of publicist Lisa Shively of The Press Network in Nashville and, of course, the notoriety and talent of the state’s longest-running Cajun and western swing band, Sandmel said, deserve credit for the nomination.
The Ramblers are headed to the Big Apple for the gala event, performing on Mardi Gras at Tramps with bluegrass nominee Ralph Stanley.
So are they gonna bring home the bacon?
“You don’t want to let yourself go too far with those kind of fantasies,” Sandmel concluded.
It’s that time again … You know, the masked-on-horseback, dancing-in-the-street deal. If it were Pictionary, you might draw a picture of a chicken wearing plastic beads. You know, Mardi Gras in Cajun Country. A chance to join the medieval merriment in burgs large and small, feasting on boudin, beer, gumbo and just letting it all hang out.
If you’re looking for your annual fix of Cajun and Creole festivity French Louisiana style, you might want to catch up with the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission for a schedule of events around Acadiana.
Their toll-free number is (800) 346-1958. For instant info via fax, call (800) 884-7329 and key in 651. If you’re on the Web, head to www.lafayettetravel.com.
Have a happy and safe Mardi Gras.
