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| Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels |
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Sunday was the second and final
day of the Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival, and its lineup
featured Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, two
bands I was particularly excited to see. I got there a bit later on Sunday than
I had on Saturday, and so missed Alex Nester. I heard from several people that
she did a really good set, so I’ll try to catch her at some point. I did see
her backstage in her unusual outfit made of neckties, which I have to admit was
pretty damn cool. When I arrived, both stages were between acts. A dance lesson
was going on in front of the Cajun stage.
After a little while, I could hear
from there that music was starting up again at the blues stage, so I headed
over there to catch The 44’s, a four-piece band providing some good, solid
blues featuring harmonica. I enjoyed their blues jams. First band of the day
for me, and first beer. And second. Things felt more relaxed Sunday than they
had on Saturday, and I was definitely digging the vibe of the day. The MC was
having fun, telling The 44’s they’ll be sued if they don’t return to the
festival in the next couple of years. And I learned that all proceeds from this
festival go to charities benefiting the local area. You can check out the
festival’s website for a list of those charities. Also, the staff is made of
volunteers. Pretty cool.
The MC got back on stage to ask
the crowd if anyone had a tambourine that Mitch Ryder could use. He was in need
of one. And soon the current version of the Detroit Wheels came out on stage,
establishing a groove before Mitch Ryder came out with his new tambourine.
After the first song (“Little Latin Lupe Lu”), he told the
crowd that it was an honor and a pleasure to play for them, and it felt genuine
and heartfelt rather than routine stage banter. He didn’t have a set list in
front of him on stage, so he asked the other band members what was next. They
told him it was “Liberty,” and Mitch Ryder mentioned that he’d recorded this
song with Booker T & The MGs. After that song, a set list was brought up on
stage for him. “I’ll continue to do this
as long as I can,” he told the crowd before then going into “Jenny Take A
Ride.” That was followed by a cover of “All Along The Watchtower.” And that was
followed by a more surprising cover, with Mitch even saying “This next song is a curiosity for me”
during its introduction, that being “Many Rivers To Cross.” It was an
interesting rendition, certainly much more in the blues realm than Jimmy
Cliff’s original version, and featuring a passionate vocal delivery by Mitch
Ryder. After “Dear Lord, Won’t You Help This Child,” Mitch mentioned that he’s
being inducted into the Rhythm And Blues Hall of Fame. He then mentioned
putting negative energy into music, and the band launched into “Long Neck
Goose.”
Mitch Ryder changed the pace
for “If You Need The Pain,” which began gently on keys. This is one I wasn’t
familiar with, and I really enjoyed it. Mitch then switched gears again for
“Betty’s Too Tight,” which had a harder vibe. “Betty’s too tight/But she looks all right/When she’s walking down that
hallway.” That was followed by “Shake A Tail Feather” and then by “Try A
Little Tenderness.” For “Tenderness,” there was no guitar, just vocals, keys,
bass and drums. The band then played what is probably its most famous tune, the
medley of “Devil With A Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly.” Mitch left the
stage, while the band jammed out the end of the song. When he returned to the
stage for the encore, he told the audience he appreciated the standing ovation,
and again his words seemed genuine. He came across as humble and kind, and that
made me like him all the more. He then did a cool blues rendition of Bob
Dylan’s “From A Buick 6,” with some nice stuff on keys, to close out his set.
Mitch Ryder put on a great show
(certainly a highlight of the weekend), and after his set I had a chance to
meet him and get a photo. I then stayed at the blues stage because next up was
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. They delivered what was probably the most fun set of the
festival, getting things off to great, swinging start with “Diga Diga Do,” and
following it with a ridiculously fun instrumental number called “The Jitters,”
which included a short drum solo. Lead singer Scotty Morris introduced “Simple
Songs” by saying he wrote it an effort to get his daughter to dance. It also
worked to get some of the audience dancing, and got me feeling pretty damn
good. There was some delightful stuff on keys. They followed that with one of
their most well-known tunes, “Mr. Pinstripe Suit,” a song that reminds me a lot
of The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, a band I used to see all the time when I lived
in Oregon. This band has that same great energy and also an excellent horn
section. They got the audience singing along with “Hey Now” after a bit of
encouragement from Scotty Morris, and followed that with “Reefer Man,” which
started with a great rhythm and featured some fun back and forth between the
trumpet and saxophone, plus some wonderful work on trombone. They then did a
very cool rendition of “Minnie The Moocher,” a highlight of their set. “Jumpin’
Jack” got the audience dancing, including a woman with what looked like a giant
dog puppet. This song includes a nod to “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got
That Swing)” and a bit of scat toward the end, and it led straight into “I
Wanna Be Like You.” I also thoroughly enjoyed “You Know You Wrong,” with the
line, “I don’t want to fight, but you ain’t
ever right,” and that song went straight into “Big Time Operator,” followed
by “Zig Zaggity Woop Woop,” another of the set’s highlights. That tune had
plenty of great stuff from the horn players, and ended with a drum solo. “You
And Me And The Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)” features the line “I don’t think another drink’s gonna make me
lose my mind.” Hey, only one way to find out. The band then got jazzy with “Mambo
Swing,” which led straight into “Go Daddy-O” to end the set. They quickly came
back for an encore of “So Long – Farewell – Goodbye,” with many members of the
band taking turns singing lead (and with a brief instrumental bit of “Sweet
Home Alabama” near the end). It was a fantastic set.
After another beer, I made my
way over to the Cajun stage (because my memory from last year is that the beer
at the Cajun stage isn’t as good) to catch Jo-El Sonnier, who closed out the
festival with a fun set of tunes. There were plenty of folks dancing in front
of the stage, and in fact there was a dance floor set up for them (there was a
dance floor at the blues stage, too, but it was pretty far off stage right). I
loved the way the fiddle and accordion worked together. Jo-El Sonnier and his
band covered “Johnny B. Goode” in tribute to Chuck Berry. And soon after that,
Doug Kershaw and Michael Doucet joined the band on fiddle (so there were three
fiddle players!), and things got even more energetic and fun. Doug asked, “What are we doing?” Jo-El answered, “Jambalaya.” Doug replied, “No.” But yes, they did a wonderful rendition
of that beloved song. The rest of the set was great, and the encore was a rock
and roll number called “Sugar Bee.” It was a delicious ending to a
great day of music.
Here are some photos from the
second day:
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