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8th Internationales Cajun & Zydecofestival
12th Nov - 16th Nov 2008
München - Ravensburg - Soest - Baasem
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(By Sam Murray)
Corey Ledet/ Sarah Savoy/ Cajun Roosters festival tour, 4 shows and one breakfast session travelling in two brand new versions of the classic band van – the Ford Transit - travelling in true Spinal Tap style!
I was supposed to get over to Hartmuts house on Tuesday evening for an early start in van 1 but train delays meant that I had to divert to Cologne and stay at Michaels and travel in van 2. But as is often the case, difficulties often turn out for the best in the end, and as a result of being delayed I got to watch our new promo DVD over a glass or two of Rot wine before bed.
Wednesday
Early start, travelling down to Frankfurt with Michael and Klaus to Pick up Corey Ledet and his entourage who have been staying at Anja’s flat. Another good outcome of being diverted to Cologne was that I got to see Anja’s flat for the first time, I felt so much at home that I didn’t want to leave. I could see myself sitting on her balcony drinking tea and looking over the panoramic cityscape of Frankfurt for the rest of the day! Sadly this was not to be and we were soon saying our goodbyes to Anja and her neighbors (who Corey had been serenading with his accordion before we arrived) and we were soon warp speed driving down the autobahn to Munich and the notorius Rattlesnake Saloon listening for the first time to a hot off the press copy of the new Roosters album ‘Double Shot’.
Meanwhile Hartmut drove directly to Munich airport on his own (poor thing) to pick up Sarah Savoy and band and Chris & Andy Watson from England and chance would have it that we all arrived at the Rattlesnake at pretty much the same time.
Turns out that Andy has come down with Flu like symptoms and needs powerful American pharmacologicals in order to be able to play but otherwise everyone appeared to be match fit and ready to boogie.
Nice to meet Tony Delafose again. The last time we met was some time back in the last century when he was over playing in England with the late great John Delafose. My two abiding memories of that trip was jamming in the Falstaff pub with the Delafose band and seeing them play at the Sidmouth Folk Festival with R. Cajun supporting, a legendary gig indeed.
After the soundcheck and some fine Jambalaya and a beer we sat down to watch Sarah Savoy and her awesome band who treated the packed house to some first Class Cajun boogie for an hour or so. Then the Roosters came on to loud applause that continued throughout the whole set. Seems like we’ve made many friends during the many times we’ve played in Munich and they were letting us know they were here. Finally Corey and his band come on and play the night out with over 2 hours of fantastic Zydeco Boogaloo, and although many of the audience had to leave as they had work in the morning a hard core of revellers stayed well into the early hours mesmerised by the sound of one of the best bands coming out of Louisiana at this time. It was certainly the biggest and best crowd I’ve ever seen at the Rattlesnake and we were all so elated after the gig that it was hard to sleep. Some of the entourage stayed upstairs in the venue and others stayed at Bruno the owner of the venue’s house, but we were all late getting to sleep with the adrenaline still pumping through our veins.
Thursday
After a magnificent breakfast at Bruno’s we boarded the buses once again and began a 3 hour drive to Ravensburg near the Switz/ Austrian border where we were playing in an old converted barn in the town centre, a really nice place with old beams that we all felt a good vibe about when we saw it. Soundchecks on this tour have been generally long affairs as three radically different bands need to get their individual sounds right so some people were able to check in to the hotel and chill and others were able to get a look around this lovely old walled town and shop a little while the other bands did there thing. The concert had the early start of 19:00 as we had to finish before 23:00 due to the venue being in a residential area. |
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Although this was a sit down audience we soon had people on their feet dancing in every available space and the music flowed easily in the lovely atmosphere of this fine venue.
Although we had to stop early we were able to continue playing acoustically and the final hour was probably the best part of the night as the crowd gathered round the musicians and everyone danced the rest of the night away.
It was then pack up time and back to the hotel for a whiskey before bed and an early start in the morning, ‘what do you mean it’s already morning’!
Friday
Up at 6:15 and out on the road for a seven hour drive to Soest and our next concert. Chris is in storytelling mode and we hear a selection of some of his best including the famous ‘Bad Hat’ tale, (you’ll have to ask him yourself if you want to hear it). Another long soundcheck but a chance to rest up a bit and do a bit of catnapping in the dressing room while the other bands get their sound sorted. |
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The dancers don’t block the view of the sitters nor do they have to dance in the margins or at the back, this is a layout that other venues could learn from I think.
One of the highlights of the tour for me was jamming at the end on Tony’s bass with Corey on ‘Watch That Dog’ and almost getting it right for once!
After the show some go back to the hotel but the Roosters and Corey and his partner Kelly drove back to Hartmut and Gerda’s retirement home for demented musicians to get some well earned rest. And yet another late night was had by all.
Saturday
Fortunately we didn’t have to get up too early and when we did we were greeted with another awesome breakfast courtesy of top celebrity chef Gerda, who always seems to come up with some wonderful meals when we stay there. |
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Baasem is one of the best gigs we ever play and tonight was no exception. The place was rammed yet again and Sarah soon had them rocking, warming up the audience for the Roosters and Corey’s sets.
Well if you weren’t there you’re going to have to wait for the inevitable youtube clips of the show to be posted to see what all the fuss was about, but all I’m going to say is that all three bands more than rose to the occasion and the crowd danced away like lunatics yet again. One of the craziest audience I’ve ever played to!
Although the traditional jam at the end didn’t last as long as in previous years a small group of us ended up in the bar with Klausi’s guitar singing and drinking together till 5 am. Everyone still standing was particularly impressed by the multi-instrumental skills of David from Sarah’s band and we were also truly mesmerised by the lovely voice of Ramona who maybe ought to be on the bill next year she is certainly talented enough to be!
Sunday
5 hours sleep and we’re up for the Cajun brunch and a welcome cup of tea. After packing up the drums from the previous night I got to join in what is for me one of the best parts of the festival. The music is acoustic and there’s room for the dancers to swing about, at least those who still have the energy to hop around. But most people just sit around and listen attentively to the informal session from the musicians and guests.
Then it’s back in the car for me, Anka, and Wim - who both came over the previous night for the festivities - and another three and a half hours drive back home.
This has certainly been one of the most exhausting tours I’ve done in recent years but all the gigs were amazing thanks above all to the great audiences that turned out to see us once again. This festival gets better every year though it’s always a worry wondering if we’ve made enough money to cover the costs, but hopefully it will all work out so that next year will be even better.
9th. Cajun & Zydeco Festival 2009:
11th Nov 2009 München - Rattlesnake Saloon
12th Nov 2009 Ravensburg - Zehntscheuer
13th Nov 2009 Soest - Alter Schlachthof
14th Nov /15th Nov 2009 Baasem/Eifel - Saal Stahls
See you ! Laissez les bon temps rouler ! Lache pas la patate ! Merci beaucoup ! Thanx a lot !
Presstext download:
Corey Ledet: ( Wordformat - PDF-Format )
Sarah Savoy: ( Wordformat - PDF-Format )
Cajun Roosters: ( Wordformat - PDF-Format )
Pressfotos: Corey Ledet - Sarah Savoy - Cajun Roosters
Links:
Corey Ledet & his Zydeco Band
Website: www.lsue.edu oder www.myspace.com
Corey Ledet at the Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, Louisiana, 16.08.2008
Corey Ledet preforming Boudin Man live at the Liberty Theater in Eunice
Sarah Savoy & the Francadians
Website: www.myspace.com
Cajun Roosters
