Late on Wednesday night, May 4th, as the final hours of the “daze between” officially slipped into the first moments of “weekend two,” the ever-evolving Daze Between Band came together at New Orleans, LA’s Tipitina’s to once again mark the midway point of the ten-day Jazz Fest season.
For several years, the rotating Daze Between Band ensemble has gathered for all-star blowouts during the mid-week pause in action at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival grounds. Led as always by guitarist Eric Krasno, the Daze Between Band brought the party to Tip’s for the first time ever in 2022 for a sold-out celebration featuring Krasno’s former Lettuce bandmates Adam Deitch (drums) Ryan Zoidis (saxophone), and Eric “Benny” Bloom (trumpet), trumpeter/vocalist Jennifer Hartswick (Trey Anastasio Band), New Orleans favorites George Porter Jr. (bass, The Meters), Ivan Neville (keys/vocals, Dumpstaphunk), Erica Falls (vocals), and more.
Following an opening set by eclectic Richmond, VA jazz/hip-hop outfit Butcher Brown, Krasno and company took the stage and eased in behind Porter for The Meters’ “Pungee”. Next, the distinguished bassist led the band on vocals through a powerful rendition of “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley”, the Allen Toussaint-penned tune first recorded by Robert Palmer in 1974—with The Meters and Lowell George as his then-uncredited backing band.
After a joyous, “New Orleans”-altered run through The Meters’ “Africa” featuring a hearty helping of improvisation, Jennifer Hartswick took the mic for a run through The Isley Brothers‘ “Work To Do” featuring clever snippets of both the Grateful Dead‘s “Fire On The Mountain” and The Meters’ “Fire On The Bayou”. Erica Falls tagged in next, taking the Tipitina’s stage dressed in tie-dye (“I decided to match George tonight,” she laughed) to lead the Daze Between Band through Sly & The Family Stone‘s “If You Want Me To Stay”. Falls briefly cleared the stage as George once again steered the Daze Between ship into Grateful waters with an impassioned take on Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter classic “Sugaree” before joining back in alongside guitarist Ian Neville and keyboardist/vocalist Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk) for a homegrown rendition of The Meters’ “It Ain’t No Use”.
Daze Between Band ft. Erica Falls, Ivan Neville, Ian Neville – “It Ain’t No Use” (The Meters) – 5/4/22
[Video: Troy Domino]
The feeling was mutual as the band moved into a Hartswick-helmed “Love The One You’re With” (Stephen Stills) sing-along featuring guest keyboardist Joey Porter (The Motet) and an explosive “Rock Steady” (Aretha Franklin) set-closer featuring a thrilling Eric “Benny” Bloom trumpet solo.
As the hour grew later and the band returned to the stage for the encore, the talented collective still had some tricks up its sleeve. After diving into timeless Herbie Hancock composition “Watermelon Man”, the members of the band gradually swapped out for other artists who happened to be waiting in the wings. By the time the sprawling rendition came to a close, only drummer Adam Deitch remained from the band that had started the song, with bassist Jesus Coomes (Lettuce), guitarist Ari Teitel (The Rumble), keyboardist Joey Porter, and trombonists Alex Wasily (Dumpstaphunk) and TJ Norris (Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Rumble) humbly accepting the night’s final round of applause.
Check out photo galleries from Daze Between Band 2022 at Tipitina’s below via Courtney Scout (Scout It Out Media) and Dave Vann.
Setlist: Daze Between Band | Tipitina’s | New Orleans, LA | 5/4/22
Set: Pungee, Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley, Africa, Work To Do, Funky Miracle, If You Want Me To Stay, That’s What Love Will Make You Do, Sugaree, It Ain’t No Use, Love The One You’re With, Rock Steady
Encore: Watermelon Man
