King’s Day on January 6th marks the start of Carnival season, a special time in New Orleans featuring parades, revelry, and more. On January 8th, the Take Me To The River All-Stars traveled north to spread some Mardi Gras infused love in New York City at the gorgeous City Winery.
The sold-out show featured a host of the Crescent City’s finest as the core group was anchored by guitarist Ian Neville (Dumpstaphunk), keyboardist Joe Ashlar (Dr. John), drummer Brian Richburg Jr. (Donald Harrison Jr.), and musical director Rob Mercurio (Galactic). MC’ed by the Take Me To The River Foundation founder Martin Shore (who also contributed some percussion), the show was tightly run as Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr. was the first guest.
Dollis entered from the back of the audience in full Big Chief garb as the group played his theme song. “My Name Is Bo” bumped with crowd-infused call-and-response, serving as an excellent warm-up. The Wild Magnolia’s “Party” set the vibe for the night as trumpet and trombone joined the group with each musician taking an extended solo while the upbeat funk flowed out. Following that display, Anjelika Jelly Joseph took over vocals from Dollis Jr., mixing in strong blues singing with continuous funk.
Jelly delivered a torch song rendition of Earl King’s “It Hurts to Love Someone” and a big, brassy blues shakedown of Irma Thomas’ “Hip Shaking Mama. Joseph also fronted a few funky jams singing both Lee Dorsey’s “Yes We Can” and Dr. John’s “Qualified” with vigor. Joseph ended her run with a spooky spin on Galactic’s “Heart of Steel”, which took clear inspiration from “I Walk On Guilded Splinters” as the atmospheric tune eased out and swelled to a large finale.
After a drum/tambourine solo from Richburg Jr. (who was in fine form all night), the show kicked up with energy as the father/son combo of Cyril and Omari Neville bounded onto the stage. The classic “Hey Pocky Way” was jubilant, but it was the players’ rendition of The Meter’s “No More Okey Doke” that was the set’s highlight. The funk was sped up a bit in tempo while both Mercurio’s bass and Ashlar’s keys were dynamic, with Cyril even giving Ashlar a special shout-out post-song, saying how he “brought the Papa funk, brother Art would be proud.
An extended set closing spin on another New Orleans classic, “Big Chief,” found Omari singing from the crowd as Bo Dollis rejoined the show, as both he and Cyril shouted out Big Chiefs of the past. The party atmosphere concluded using the show’s title cover song as an encore with a groovy, group-sung version of “Take Me To The River. The full concert was just under 90 minutes, and for a New Orleans get-down, this felt a bit short overall, but it is hard to find fault with this supremely fun night of music supporting a worthy cause.