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NORTH ADAMS, April 27, 1996 -- The Night Shift Cafe took on the flavor of a Louisiana roadhouse on Friday night as Dr. John brought his patented brand of New Orleans funk and R&B to the post-industrial venue.
Backed by a versatile guitar-bass-drums trio, the singer-pianist played a selection of Mardi Gras favorites, classic jazz tunes and Dr. John originals.
In a suit and hat, the stylish bandleader barked, growled and bit off swinging vocal phrases throughout the night, while his hands performed their honky-tonk-inspired magic on the keyboard.
Facetiously introducing the first tune as a selection "from the opera 'Aida,'" Dr. John -- born Malcolm Rebennack and known to most in the business as "Mac" -- kicked off his set with the Mardi Gras classic "Iko Iko." The song is always guaranteed to get a crowd dancing, and dance they did for the rest of the evening.
A few numbers into his set, Dr. John slowed down the pace with a bluesy, swampy number, before paying a visit to the jazz-standard territory he has been exploring on recordings in more recent years. Rebennack was as comfortable assaying "Candy" and "Blue Skies" as he was any funk number, and his trio, featuring the dynamic drummer Herlin Riley -- a protege of Wynton Marsalis -- rose to the occasion, keeping the rhythms swinging. It's no wonder he won a long-deserved Grammy for this sort of thing.
Dr. John brought the show to its climax with the parade-like classic "Big Chief," which he combined with "Down By the Riverside." He offered a very funked-up version of his greatest hit, "Right Place Wrong Time," and "Such a Night" was a showcase for his piano-playing, featuring a great boogie-woogie- style solo boasting the cascades of arpeggios that are his signature.
Dr. John was an amiable frontman, indulging a fan's request by singing a personalized "Happy Birthday" to a friend. A surprise onstage appearance by Night Shift promoter Mort Cooperman to introduce his longtime friend -- Cooperman's first such gesture at the North Adams venue and reportedly his first anywhere -- further lent the proceedings a personal touch.
Even before that, however, the night was one of connections being made, when former Williamstown resident James Montgomery made his first Berkshire appearance in nearly a decade.
Warming up the crowd for the headliner, Montgomery showed that he hasn't lost an ounce of his talent or work ethic in the intervening years. Touching down on blues numbers by Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters and Junior Walker, as well as a few originals, singing and playing his Paul Butterfield-style mouth organ, Montgomery was ever the showman he always was.
(This review originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on April 29, 1996. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1996. All rights reserved.)
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