Booties were shaking Saturday at Cervantes as New Orleans funksters – heir to the mighty throne of the Meters – shredded with their simmering, surly and crinkle-your-nose dank funk.
Taking the stage at the stroke of midnight, Ivan Neville’s crew tossed a quick countdown to 2012 before igniting their fiery boogie. Throttling the sold-out house with relentless deep-end – thanks to the double-barreled bass blast of Tony Hall and Nick Daniels – Team Neville elevated old-school, Louisiana bayou funk with popping bass lines, rich Hammond B3 and perfectly pocketed rhythm. With new drummer Nikki Glaspie crushing the skins with powerful thunder in a pocket she utterly owned, the 9-year-old Dumpstaphunk has perfected its own twist on the venerable Meters sound that pioneered and still defines New Orleans’ swampiest funk. The funk is literally in the Dumpstaphunk DNA. The Meters’ captain Art “Papa Funk” Neville is a guiding light for the band, with his nephew Ivan conjuring the master’s delicate to throbbing keywork and his son Ian slowly emerging as a next generation Brian Stoltz, the Meters’ blistering guitar maestro.
Lead guitar is no easy task when flanked by the penetrating power of Hall and Daniels, but the junior Neville is finding his place amid the storm. While Hall can casually crush lead on both his five-string bass and six-string, the consummate pro spends more time opening doors for his string-plucking cohorts Daniels and Neville. Neville’s reticent approach in the storied “Meanwhile” climbed to impressive heights as Hall spurred his young protégé deeper, although Neville still struggles when wandering off-piste in Hall-led improv. Dumpstaphunk’s cover of Bowie’s “Fame” saw Hall and Daniels trading buoyant bass riffs while Neville floated his subtle licks to rabid response from the amply lubed crowd.
While Dumpstaphunk threads all their songs with groove and funk, the band can veer dangerously close to adult contemporary at moments, especially when Hall cranks up the R&B soul with crooner tunes like “Deeper.” But when the band returns to it roots, even a simple cover – like Sly and the Family Stone’s “You Can Make It If You Try” – explodes with dynamic improvisation and gritty groove.
Part of a two-night stand at Cervantes, Dumpstaphunk and L.A. funk outfit Orgone shared headlining duties with Orgone opening the New Year’s Eve show. After Orgone’s slow burn to roiling boogie-down “Ain’t No Use,” the band’s sultry soul singer Niki J. Crawford could have cooed that the Dumpstaphunk was not going to make it that night and the crowd would have roared like she was announcing an open bar. With brass anchor and the frighteningly spectacular, Santana-channeling Sergio Rios on guitar, Orgone blew the joint up with an opening set that mirrored the fire of the headlining Dumpstaphunk.
Follow our news and updates on , our whereabouts on and our relationship status on . Or send us a telegram.
Jason Blevins is a strange dancer, but that has never stopped him.
