On a busy Saturday night in New Orleans, fans filled the legendary Tipitina’s Uptown concert venue to celebrate the return of Billy Iuso & Friends. Iuso, whose newest record, Overstanding, is still fresh from its release in 2015, brought together a new collective on this night, featuring Eddie Christmas (drums), Brad Walker (sax), Charlie Dennard (keys), and Dave Pomerleau (bass). All four of these talented musicians have played in various groups with Iuso over the years, and, as Billy hinted before the show, this would turn out to be a fun and loose outing. Filled with both new material and classic tributes to the deepest strands of funk, soul, reggae, blues, and rock to pass through New Orleans, Iuso and company created an unforgettable night filled to the brim with music.
From the onset it was clear that Iuso and his loyal fans–affectionately called “BIRNouts” after his hometown group Billy Iuso & Restless Natives–generate a unique energy when together in a room. A thrilling opening of Funkadelic’s classic “Red Hot Mama” into “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley” and then into the title track from his latest record Overstanding, fully charged the band up and caused infectious joy throughout the room. Iuso fearlessly led rolling grooves, gritty funk breakdowns, American rock swells, spacey jams, and bright, ringing anthems. It was a true collaborative, with Iuso frequently stepping back to allow each person on stage and their special guests to shine.
“The band keeps getting bigger!” Billy exclaimed at one point, as he welcomed local rocker Mike Doussan and trumpet and sax players Mike Korbin and Dave Masucci to the stage. Teases, including the Grateful Dead’s “Terrapin Station” and Sly & The Family Stone’s staple “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”, were jokingly peppered in between blistering versions of Little Feat’s “Spanish Moon” and a loose and funky take on The Rolling Stones’ “Miss You”, among original gems like “Trippin’ Ova Dragons” and “Been Through Hell”.
After Iuso and company brought the house down with a beautiful crescendo of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues,” he faced the audience to wish them peace and love, ensuring a terrific end with a high note for this Saturday night party. Simply put, Billy brings it. Catch him at the inaugural NOLA Crawfish Festival with his band, Restless Natives on April 26th, as well as with George Porter, Jr., Terence Higgins, Dave Malone, and special guest Anders Osborne as the Crawfish Fest All-Stars on April 27th.
Setlist: Billy Iuso & Friends at Tipitina’s, New Orleans, LA – 2/27/16
Set: Red Hot Mama>Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley>Overstanding, Shape I’m In*, She Moves That Way, Valerie, Chosen One, Last Train*, Do or Die>Don’t Let Me Down, Spanish Moon*, Trippin’ Ova Dragons, Been Through Hell>Miss You, What’s The Buzz, Let Me Have it All, Tom Thumb’s Blues
*Dave P Vocals
*with Mike Doussan on guitar
Take a gander at the full gallery of images, from Rick Moore:
