How do you start off talking about a concert that was so amazingly out of this world, that there are no words to actually describe it? Maybe it was the big ole Super Moon that hung precariously close to the Big Easy that stirred up the soul-bending sounds that emanated through the walls of this favorite local music hang out. Maybe it pulled out something dangerously close to blues heaven that the people inside were simply overcome. Or maybe these three men are just that damn good.
If you don’t know about the North Mississippi Allstars, then you have been missing probably one of the best bands out there playing today. With a fresh new CD out, Keys To The Kingdom, Luther Dickinson, his baby brother Cody, and bass funkmeister Chris Chew, are rumbling across the country producing sounds that are felt deep down in the soul and bringing back the days when music was music to be played with friends on warm summer nights till the sun crept over the horizon. Tonight was one of those steamy nights where you just didn’t want to go home.
If you showed up to hear some southern blues channeled through a rocking beat and a spiritual ambience, you were in the right place on the right night. Nowhere else in town was there this kind of soulful harmonic convergence. And it began to brew before Luther ever hit the stage for part one of this mesmerizing show.
Walking around outside and chatting with some fans beforehand, Luther is a man with a sincere and humble soul. He seems to love everyone and genuinely appreciates all those who come out to support his band. A young man gave him a beautiful guitar he had made and which he played that very night. “Did you see him play it?” the young man asked me afterwards, beaming. That is something you just don’t see happen everyday; that one-on-one connection with a fan. And following the approximately four hour show, at around two in the morning when you’re sweaty and ready to head for home, the guys were still taking the time to talk with people before their long drive back to northern Mississippi. It’s pure and simple appreciation to those who allow them to make music for a living in a world where money is tight and time is precious.
While talking with Luther on his tour bus before the show, he is signing posters and enjoying the company of some dear friends. There is a lot of laughter on this bus. Garry Burnside, who will join Luther on stage during the first half of the show, is watching a video that Luther has brought him. “A friend of mine gave me some old Alan Lomax video footage of R. L. Burnside and his family from the middle seventies, late seventies,” Luther tells me, smiling, as he watches R. L.’s youngest son laugh at what is playing on the computer screen near us. “This is the first time Garry’s got to see it.” Indeed, this is a special moment, which Luther calls “a Mississippi party”.
New Orleans loves the North Mississippi Allstars. They are as welcome here as if they had been born and bred in the heart of the city. And tonight Luther says they have something special planned. “You know tonight is that Super Full Moon,” he tells me mischievously. “So I’ve got a little full moon section of the show planned.” Plus, “We have some very special guests coming, Johnny Vidacovich and Terence Higgins, and we’re going to have some fun.”
And what an understatement that ended up being. For the first half, Luther played a predominately solo set, with Garry Burnside sitting in on drums for “Out On The Road” and the phenomenally invigorating “Endless Boogie”, where Luther went into a slide guitar solo that I didn’t think he could ever top … but did over and over throughout both sets. Luther’s brother Cody came out and steamrolled on the drums during two songs from the new CD, “Jellyrollin’ All Over Heaven” and “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”, the Bob Dylan classic that these boys have now made their own.
Following a short time-to-catch-your-breath intermission, bassist Chris Chew joined Luther and Cody on stage and the NMA immediately started rocking this little jam-packed world with a spirited version of “The Meeting”. And they never let up.
To pick out highlights is virtually impossible. Luther’s slide playing is simply beyond human understanding. No one does it better and to be able to sit and listen to this man play is a blessing. Cody came from behind his drum kit on several occasions to play guitar and sing. His fast-fingered solo on “ML” flew to the ceiling and came back to knock out all unsuspecting listeners who thought his big brother was the only talented guitar player in the family. And the supersonic sounds he conjured up on his “woogie board” during “Psychedelic Sex Machine” brought a whole other level to the concert experience. It has to be seen to be believed. And not to be outdone, Chris brought sexy cool to the four-star slow funky blues supernatural “Ghetto”, where his low bass lines melded with Luther’s guitar and took your breath away.
The night before the NMA had played a special performance in Austin at SXSW to help raise support for the victims of Japan’s tsunami. “It went great,” Luther told me. But then it was back on the road. “We drove all night. It was great (laughs). Big Chris drove. He’s an awesome driver. We left about four in the morning and we got here this afternoon. Then tonight after the set we’ll drive home. We’ve been gone for four and a half weeks.” Out supporting their latest offering KEYS TO THE KINGDOM, the CD is “doing well. We’re getting great reviews and everybody seems to be pleased with it.” Playing a good percentage of the new album live, the songs went over very well. “Let It Roll”, “New Orleans Walkin’ Dead”, and most especially “Hear The Hills” which blended into “Shake What Yo Mama Gave You” before spiraling back around into “Hills”. Simply amazing.
“Mississippi Bolweevil” saw Luther coaxing out some amazing sounds on a cigar box guitar, while Chris’s bass solo went into a funky blues frenzy. “Circle In The Sky”, “I’d Love To Be A Hippy”, “Boomer’s Story”, “Mean Ol’ Wind Died Down” and “Moonshine” were also memorable. “Po Black Maddie”/”Keep The Devil Down” tore it up while the boys closed everything out with a sweat-dripping house-burning spirit-cleansing “Hoe Down”. No one wanted to go home after that.
But alas all good things come to an end … only to rejuvenate into a new beginning. “We’re home for four days,” explained Luther about their upcoming plans. “Then we go back out, working three day weekends for three weeks and then we go out with Robert Plant again. And then we go over to Europe for a couple of weeks and then we just work weekends through the summer.” And at some point they will also be recording. “I’m doing like a big band gospel concept I’m working on, with a lot of voices and interesting instrumentation. And then I’m working on writing new songs. The next record of originals besides the gospel project, I think as the natural cycle goes, will probably be pretty rock & roll.”
So as that big ole moon moved further away from the Earth and concert-goers headed home, the NMA left another memorable evening in their wake in a city that knows how to party.
Watch for an in-depth interview with Luther Dickinson coming soon.
