Dr. John and the Blind Boys of Alabama mix it up in Morristown

Dr. John and friend, at the Mayo in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Dr. John and friend, at the Mayo in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Swamp Gospel? Bible in the Bayou? Voodoo spirituals?

Thursday’s concert by Dr. John and the Blind Boys of Alabama was hard to label, but easy to enjoy.  The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown see-sawed from a beery dive in New Orleans to a Baptist revival tent.

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Dr. John–or Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack Jr., if you prefer–growled his way through Mama Roux, Revolution, Big Shot, I Been Hoodoed, and his biggest hit, Right Place, Wrong Time, among other songs.

The Blind Boys, who got their start when Gone With the Wind was a box-office smash, had fun with Spirit in the Sky.  And they were smooth on People Get Ready and Amazing Grace, sung to the tune of House of the Rising Sun.

Dr. John and friend, at the Mayo in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Dr. John and friend, at the Mayo in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

To say the crowd got into the act would not be strictly accurate; actually, the act got into the crowd. With a little help from their sighted friends, the Blind Boys waded into the audience and sang their way through the theater on a rambunctious note.

Then Dr. John, a.k.a. the Nite Tripper, turned down the volume and delivered tender, aching vocals on Tell Me You’ll Wait for Me, a highlight of the evening.

Dr. John left his keyboards long enough for a turn on guitar–his original instrument before injuring a finger in a gun accident–on Let the Good Times Roll.  The doctor and his ace Lower 911 Band put a boisterous spin on Leadbelly’s classic Good Night Irene.

The Blind Boys returned to help Dr. John say goodnight with a slow, bluesy When the Saints Go Marching In. 

This tour is called Spirituals to Funk. What’s left unsaid–but not unsung–is a fair amount of zydeco, blues and Cajun rock and roll, too.

The Blind Boys of Alabama sing at the Mayo Center in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
The Blind Boys of Alabama sing at the Mayo Center in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin


 

 

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