PAPA GROWS FUNK
(with JOSEPH "ZIGABOO" MODELISTE AND THE NEW AAHKESTRA

At B.B. King's Blues Club - NYC (5/30/03)

 


 



Legendary drummer of The (original) Meters, Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste!!

At 9:20pm, the San Francisco (by way of New Orleans) sound started with the legendary drummer of The Meters, Zigaboo!! The first song was an instrumental with some standout synthesizer work, while the second song (I think it was called "K-9") featured some funky lead wah-wah guitarisms! The third song featured more vocals but the lead vocals weren't loud enough......the lead vocalist started off with chanting "You Can Get With This or You Can Get With That". The band did a little bit of "It's Your Thing" with some wicked organ riffs, not unlike The Meters! "Funky Nasty Cigarettes" was a ditty that should be used on a anti-smoking commercial for kids....and it sounds very good, too! "Funky Miracle" was just too damn funky.....every musician was on the one, but unfortunately the song was too short (IMHO)! "Hey Now Baby" featured some good piano work and was a long (!!) jam! "Cissy Strut" and "Just Kissed My Baby" were as funky as the original. The following song was a slower ballad that sounded like The Neville Brothers's "Little Piece of Heaven". The live version of "Shake What You Got" blew away the album version......every funky fan was chanting those words and it was too funky with the odorious bass solo!!! OOH, THE FUNK CAN CHOKE YA!!! "People Say" was the ending with some serious guitar funk, kick-ass bass soloing and a great drum solo by Zigaboo himself! The show ended at 11:05pm.



Click here for pictures of Zigaboo & the New Aahkestra

At 11:35pm, the New Orleans band PAPA GROWS FUNK started with some super-funky material.....I think the first tune was their rendition of "Tipitina's"....the lead guitar chords were too good to describe, along with the sax work! "In The Weeds" (I think it's the title) had some slappin' bass funk! "Junker Man" was some serious swamp funk (from deep down in the bayou).....the organwork was ridiculously funky and the swoopin' bass was all that.....all of this with a police siren playing loudly during the breakdown! "Pass It" featured some excellent drumming and reminded me of "Funky Miracle"......is it me or did I hear a variation of "The Jam" (Graham Central Station) somewhere towards the end of the jam? Deep Banana Blackout trombonist Brian Smith joined the band for one song. "Hey Pocky-A-Way" was a serious crowd pleaser with the guitarist and keyboardist from Zigaboo's band playing on it. The show was over at 1:10am.

 



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