By
all accounts everything was in our favor for a wonderful
night under the stars at Heckscher Park in Huntington. The
weather was warm, the stars were shining, and the sky was
crystal clear. The expansive outdoor Rainbow Stage was set.
A brand new lighting system, an elaborate, state-of-the-art
sound system, stocked dressing rooms, food, drink, a great
staff, and a show ready to start at 8:00 PM. The crowd started
arriving early at 5:30 PM to stake their claim of land on
the grassy hill in front of the theater. They came with
blankets, lawn chairs, coolers filled with wine, candles,
and of course their dancing shoes. They came at six. They
came at seven. They came at eight. And they kept coming
until there was an estimated 700 people spread out over
the lawn.
This
was truly a special evening since ZydecoRoad.com was invited
to co-produce this final concert of the Huntington Arts
Council’s 2004 Summer Arts Festival. No small task,
but extremely enjoyable. In order to create the right show,
we needed to build a musical bridge between Long Island
and La Louisianne. And what better way to accomplish this
than to invite two of the most popular zydeco touring acts
in the Northeast to host the party, Sean Vidrine and Swampfyre
from Lake Charles, Louisiana and Captain Squeeze and the
Zydeco Moshers from upstate New York. This was truly an
unbelievable bill.
First
up Captain Squeeze and the Zydeco Moshers. This was The
Mosher’s third visit to Long Island having headlined
our Saturday Night Zydeco dance series twice before. The
Moshers have become a favorite in the downstate region as
a result of their unique sound, outrageous covers of zydeco
standards, outgoing personalities, their original material,
and now they juggle. What more can you ask for? The Moshers
rifled through a forty-five minute set of Boozoo, Beau Jocque,
some great American southern blues, and new material from
their latest release, “Bayou Party Downtown.”
The crowd was on their feet and dancing in the stage pit
all night long.
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The
Moshers completed their set up with an encore and
having hosted their own dance contest. The audience
was extremely impressed by The Mosher’s set,
and many made their way over to the Merchandise Tent
to purchase a copy of “Bayou Party Downtown.”
For more information about New York’s own Captain
Squeeze and the Zydeco Moshers, log onto their website
at: www.captainsqueeze.com and don’t forget
to catch Captain Squeeze and the Zydeco Moshers when
they return to headline Saturday Night Zydeco at Yazoo
City in the spring.
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What can I possibly say about my good friend Sean Vidrine?
Plenty! Sean Vidrine and Swampfyre are without a doubt one
of the most explosive live performers on the worldwide zydeco
scene. In just a few short years Vidrine has amassed a loyal
following of fans in Europe, the northeast and all along
the crawfish circuit. I should know because I handle Sean’s
fan club list and people from all over the world e-mail
him immediately following his concerts to tell him how much
they enjoyed his show. Sean Vidrine and Swampfyre are all
energy. They are relentless performers who get their audience
going from the beginning notes of their opening song to
the last chords of their finale.
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This
evening, Sean Vidrine commanded the Rainbow Stage
and whether he covered Hank Williams, Beau Jocque
or Bob Dylan he covered them and his original material
exceptionally and with great energy. Vidrine is in
touch with his audience through every song. He encourages
them to sing, dance, scream and just have a good time.
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This
evening, Sean and the members of Swampfyre simply wore the
audience down. His set lasted nearly two hours and he didn’t
play a ballad until he was more than halfway through. It
was so exhausting the audience was sweating. Sean Vidrine
and Swampfyre are on tour promoting their latest release
“Walking Away” on the J&S Records label.
What he was able to accomplish on Long Island was simply
a solidification of his popularity in the New York region.
Vidrine is an enormously talented artist who truly deserves
to be brought back to the northeast year after year after
year. He’s vibrant. His material is always fresh.
His appreciation of his fans is so genuine and he delivers
one of the most exciting live shows, almost on par with
my friend C.J. Chenier.
For
more information about Sean Vidrine and Swampfyre, log onto
their website at: www.swampfyre.com.
To purchase a copy of “Walking Away” log onto
www.jandsrecords.com.
