words & photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Paul Shaffer sits in with William Bell

It was the Ponderosa Stomp's first night to shine at Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing (Thursday, 7/16). The Stomp presented Harvey Scales, the Bobbettes, and William Bell with Memphis' Bo-Keys. The show was presented 'revue' style with all the artists performing two separate sets. Soul, Funk and Disco pioneer Harvey Scales arrived in a purple suit and then took it up a considerable notch with a lime green outfit with gold shoes and later a red suit with all the trimmings. The Bobbettes presented their unique soulful and gritty girl-doo-wop, first killing off Mr. Lee (I Shot Mr. Lee) and bringing him back to life for the original version that sounded as clean and sharp as ever. Harvey Scales delivered spastic funk, dancing across the stage like and electrified lime green Frankenstein, whipping up the crowd with his sweat towel. William Bell delivered his trademark deep Memphis soul with style and integrity, later bringing Paul Shaffer to sit in on Otis Redding's 'Hard to Handle' - a musical highlight of the evening.

On Friday, the Stomp and Lincoln Center switched gears into high octane Rockabilly with The Collins Kids (double necked guitar prodigy Larry Collins and his sister Lorrie), Carl Mann (Sam Phillips recording artist) and Joe 'Ducktail' Clay (whose insane recordings with Mikey Baker are some of the hottest ever recorded), all backed by Deke Dickerson and the Eccophonics.

On Wednesday, The Bo-Dukes played a pre-Stomp show at Southpaw with The Sweet Divines. More pictures from Thursday below...

Continue reading "Ponderosa Stomp @ Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing - night 1 pics (William Bell, Paul Shaffer, Bobbettes, more)"

Midsummer Night Swing 7/8 (more by Gabi Porter)

The first two nights of The Ponderosa Stomp at Lincoln Center, July 16th and 17th are part of Lincoln Center's Midsummer Nights Swing, taking place at Damrosch Park. Each night kicks off with a dance lesson at 6:30 and the music starts at 7:30. Thursday night features The Get Down, a night of soul music excellence featuring William Bell, Harvey Scales, The Bobbettes and the incomparable Bo-Keys. Friday night brings rockabilly to the forefront with the Best Dance in Town, in which New Orleans wild man Joe Clay, Sun Record's Carl Mann and the legendary brother/sister duo The Collins Kids throw down, backed by Deke Dickerson and his Eccofonics.

Sunday, July 19th, a tribute performance takes place at Alice Tully Hall in the Starr Theatre, in which a high-octane array of Stomp artists will pay musical tribute to the "Creole Beethoven", Wardell Quezergue. Quezergue, nicknamed by Allan Toussaint, has made musical history countless times as the man behind timeless hits like "Mr. Big Stuff", "Iko Iko" and "Chapel of Love". A genius musician, arranger and producer who is largely unknown outside of New Orleans, Quezergue helped shape the soulful sounds of the south into international hit records. The show features R&B icons The Dixie Cups and Robert Parker; soul greats Jean Knight, Dorothy Moore, Tammy Lynn, and Tony Owens; legendary New Orleans drummer Zigaboo Modeliste; New Orleans musician, producer, and session man Mac Rebennack (Dr. John); garage-music pioneer Michael Hurtt; plus Wardell Quezergue's Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, an all-star ten-piece band led by Quezergue himself in a rare New York appearance.

The Ponderosa Stomp @ Lincoln Center's first night, The Get Down, will be broadcast live on WFMU. The second, July 17th, will be recorded for a later broadcast on July 30th. Tickets for the events are still on sale.

More info on the Stomp and the full lineup of performers (or you can check out "virtual trading cards" for each), below...

Continue reading "Ponderosa Stomp @ Lincoln Center, on WFMU (July 16-19)"