The year was 1989. I was just a few months into what would be four years as a sports writer in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The natives in Crimson Tide country were already butchering my last name as “FEW-sillier” and “Fuss-a-LIAR.” One woman even called the Tuscaloosa News and asked for “Herman Finley.” I was the only Herman in the place, so I guess she meant me.
There was no zydeco on the radio or boudin at the corner grocery in Alabama. When my wife greeted a cute baby with “Aw, cher,” Tuscaloosans didn’t know whether to smile or run from this alien speaking in tongues. I was starting to wonder if I had made the right decision to leave Louisiana. One night, I was flipping through the TV channels and suddenly there was a picture of a “Mallet” road sign on the screen. Next was a sign pointing to “Mamou” and “Opelousas.” The accordion of Walter Mouton wailed in the background.
My heart skipped a beat. Was this a new Louisiana channel? Was I waking up from a bad dream or was this the good Lord’s way of saying, “You could have had this if you had led a good life, my son.”
The channel was PBS and the show was Jai Été Au Bal (I Went to the Dance), a documentary on the roots of Cajun music and zydeco. I jumped for the VCR control, pressed “record” and was glued to this entertaining and informative show, full of familiar songs, accents and faces.
Over the next four years, it was hard to tell if that tape cured my homesickness or made it worse. But I wore that video out.
I found out later, the hour-long show on PBS was only part of the original 84-minute, Brazos Film. I never saw the full version until this past May. I’m thrilled to say there’s even more to enjoy.
Jai Été Au Bal is now in digital glory as it’s been re-released on DVD by Arhoolie Records of El Cerrito, Calif. The DVD not only contains the original 84 minutes, but also 30 minutes of previously unreleased bonus footage.
The new disc also has audio commentary by filmmakers Les Blank, Chris Strachwitz and Maureen Gosling and chapters on why the films were made, honors and reviews, biographies and more. It’s hard to believe a good thing can be made better, but the Jai Été Au Bal DVD is a shining example. You can literally spend hours with this fast-moving documentary and see something new each time.
The disc features some narration by Barry Ancelet and Michael Doucet. But the beauty of the film is the music makers tell music history in songs, words and pictures recorded in their backyards.
When you see Bois Sec Ardoin and sons play music while one uses forks to tap out the beat on an empty Schaefer beer box, you understand the origins of Creole music and zydeco. Watch the tired eyes of Nathan Abshire, covered with grease from the Basile town dump on his clothes and face as he sings and plays his heart out on his tiny front porch, you’ll know Cajun music.
Jai Été Au Bal can be, at times, heartbreaking to watch with departed figures like Abshire, Canray Fontenot, Dennis McGee, Varise Connor, Lionel Leleux, Dewey Balfa and the Balfa Brothers, Clifton Chenier, Rockin’ Dopsie, John Delafose, Rockin’ Sidney, Boozoo Chavis and Danny Poullard. Most of these pioneers and innovators died within the past 10 to 15 years.
Some died of old age and sickness, while a number literally dropped dead on stage or just a few hours after a performance.
The 11 performances of the DVD’s bonus footage are worth the price of the disc alone. Fiddler Canray Fontenot spreads his infectious smile as he performs “Allons Chercher” and “Malinda” in his backyard in Welsh.
Michael Doucet and Lionel Leleux hold a twin fiddle jam to “Lionel’s Blues” after which Leleux playfully notifies Doucet, “That’s not in the book.” John Delafose squeezes out the “Zydeco Two Step” at a dance in Eunice.
Doucet and Wayne Toups rock out to “Zydeco Sont Pas Salé” on stage at Mulate’s in Breaux Bridge. The new Jai Été Au Bal DVD underscores the huge debt of gratitude owed to historians, producers and fillmmakers from outside Louisiana, like Blank, Strachwitz and Gosling. While people in southwest Louisiana were still licking their wounds from spankings for speaking French at school or trying to decide if zydeco deserved the same radio airplay as James Brown, these people recorded our history on video and audio.
Sure, without them, we’d still have records and books on local culture. But there’s nothing like the Jai Été Au Bal DVD to bring the past back to life.
FESTIVALS ACADIENS
In other news, Wayne Toups, Steve Riley and Geno Delafose are scheduled to perform September 20-21 at Festivals Acadiens in Girard Park in Lafayette. Festivals Acadiens, a free festival which includes Le Festival de Musique Acadienne (Cajun Music Festival), Bayou Food Festival and Louisiana Craft Fair, annually draws more than 100,000 to Lafayette.
The main stage lineup for the Cajun Music Festival includes:
Saturday, September 20, 1 a.m.-12 p.m., Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys; 12-1 p.m., Ray Abshire; 1-2 p.m., Jason Frey; 2-3 p.m., Paul Daigle and Cajun Gold; 3-4:30 p.m., Jambalaya; 4:30-6 p.m., Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie; 6-7:30 p.m., Richard LeBouef and Two-Step.
Sunday, September 21, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Tony Thibodeaux and the Cajun Five; 12-1 p.m., Robert Jardell and Pure Cajun; 1-2 p.m., Charivari; 2-3 p.m., Balfa Toujours; 3:30-5 p.m., Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, 5-6:30 p.m., Wayne Toups and ZydeCajun.
Besides the main stage, the festival also includes the Heritage Pavilion, an informal workshop and performance stage next to the Bayou Food Festival. Louisiana Folk Roots, a non-profit cultural preservation group, will hold Cajun music jam sessions throughout the weekend at the LFR Tent. The public is invited to bring their instruments and join in the fun.
On Friday, September 19, Festivals Acadiens kicks off with Downtown Alive!, an outdoor concert on Jefferson Street in downtown Lafayette. Bruce Daigrepont and Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers headline the show. For more information on Festivals Acadiens, call (800) 346-1958 or visit www.lafayettetravel.com. Contact Herman Fuselier at [email protected].
